187^ 


THE 


METALLIC    WEALTH 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


THE 


METALLIC    WEALTH 


OF 


THE  UNITED  STATES, 


DESCRIBED  AND  COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  OTHER  COUNTRIES. 


BY 

J.    D.    WHITNEY. 

I/ 


PHILADELPHIA: 
LIPPIKCOTT,    GRAMBO    &    CO. 

LONDON:  TRUBNER  &  CO. 
1854. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  ytar  1854, 
BY   LIITINCOTT,    GRAMBO    &    CO  , 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
1'ennsvlvania. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


WOOD-CUTS. 

1.*-  Section  of  a  stockwerk  deposit. 

2.  Contact  deposit  of  ore  between  two  formations. 

3.  Section  of  segregated  veins. 

4.  Section  of  the  Rammelsberg,  from  Burat. 

5.  Section  illustrating  the  nature  of  gash-veins. 

6.  Part  of  the  lode  at  Wheal  Julia,  to  illustrate  the  comby  structure  of  lodes, 

from  De  la  Beche. 

7.  Fragment  of  the  Drei  Prinzen  Spat  Vein. 

8.  Ideal  transverse  section,  to  illustrate  the  terms  used  by  miners  in  speaking 

of  a  vein. 

9.  Section  of  a  vein  at  Holzappel. 

10.  Section  of  a  vein,  with  branches  coinciding  with  the  bedding  of  the  rock. 

11.  Ground  plan  of  the  intersection  of  veins  in  the  Himmelfahrt  Mine,  near 

Freiberg,  from  Weissenbach. 

12.  Transverse  section  of  a  shaft  and  adit-level. 

13.  Ideal  section  of  shafts  for  opening  a  mine. 

14.  Horse-whim. 

15.  Method  of  overhand  sloping. 

16.  Timbering  in  the  levels  of  a  mine. 

17.  Timbering  in  mines,  from  Burat. 

18.  Timbering  in  levels,  with  solid  rock  on  one  side. 

19.  Section  of  the  junction  of  the  greenstone  and  amygdaloid  on  Keweenaw 

Point. 

20.  Section  of  the  Hogan  Mine,  March  1854. 

21.  Section  of  the  Northwestern  Mine,  February  1854. 

22.  Section  of  the  South  Cliff  Mine,  February  1854. 

23.  Mass  of  copper  containing  nodules  of  Prehnite. 

24.  Section  of  the  Siskawit  Mine. 

25.  Deposit  of  copper  between  sandstone  and  trap  in  the  Porcupine  Mountains. 

26.  Parallel  layers   of  cupriferous  veinstone   in  the  trap,  at  the   Douglass 

Houghton  Mine. 

27.  Section  of  the  Douglass  Houghton  Mine,  February  1854. 


X  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

28.  Section  of  the  Toltec  Mine,  March  1854. 

29.  Transverse  section  of  adit  and  shaft,  No.  3,  Minnesota  Mine. 

30.  Section  of  workings  on  the  South  Lode,  Minnesota  Mine. 

31.  Section  of  Norwich  Mine,  February  1854. 

32.  Section  of  the  Dolly-Hide  cupriferous  bed. 

33.  Section  of  the  M'Cullock  Vein. 

34.  Section  of  the  East  Tennessee  copper  veins. 

35.  Occurrence  of  copper  ores  in  the  New  Red  Sandstone. 

36.  Section  of  the  Zinc  and  Franklinite  beds  at  Stirling,  New  Jersey. 

37.  Section  of  the  Coal  Hill  Mine. 

38.  Section  of  the  workings  on  the  Union  Vein. 

39.  Section  of  the  Middletown  Silver-Lead  Mine. 

40.  Branching  of  the  lode  at  the  Middletown  Mine. 

41.  Section  of  the  Washington  Mine,  North  Carolina. 

42.  Ideal  section  of  a  Lead  fissure,  in  the  western  lead-region. 

43.  Horizontal  deposit  of  lead  ore. 

44.  Section  of  Levins's  Lead  near  Dubuque. 


LITHOGRAPHS. 

Plate  I.  Section  of  the  Northwest  Mine. 
II.  Section  of  the  Cliff  Mine. 
III.  Section  of  the  Minnesota  Mine. 


NOTE. — All  the  sections  are  drawn  on  the  scale  of  200  feet  to  1  inch.     The 
stopings  are  represented  by  the  part  in  black. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Sketch  of  the  history  of  mining  in  the  United  States  ;  mining  speculations  ; 
object  of  the  present  work  ;  its  arrangement. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  DEPOSITS  OF  THE  METALS  AND  THEIR  ORES, 
AND  THE  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  ON  WHICH  MINING  IS  CONDUCTED. 

Importance  of  the  subject,  33 ;  classification  of  metalliferous  deposits,  34 ; 
superficial  deposits,  34 ;  stratified  deposits  :  intercalated,  disseminated,  meta- 
morphosed, 35  ;  theories  of  their  origin,  36  ;  unstratified  deposits :  division 
of,  36  ;  irregular  deposits :  eruptive  masses,  36  ;  how  mined,  37  ;  dissemina- 
tion through  eruptive  rocks,  38  ;  washings  derived  from  their  disintegration, 
38  ;  stockwerk  deposits,  39  ;  instances  of,  39  ;  contact  deposits,  40  ;  instances 
of,  40  ;  their  character  and  value,  41 ;  fahlbands,  42  ;  regular  deposits,  43  ; 
definition  of  a  vein,  44;  Wissenbach's  classification  of  veins,  44;  segregated 
veins,  45  ;  how  different  from  true  veins,  46  ;  instance :  the  Rammelsberg, 
47 ;  their  character  and  value,  47 ;  gash-veins,  48 ;  their  origin,  48 ;  how 
filled,  49 ;  true  veins :  definition,  49 ;  how  originated,  49 ;  various  dimen- 
sions, 50  ;  contents,  51 ;  occurrence  in  groups,  51 ;  veinstones,  51 ;  their  comby 
structure,  52 ;  remarkable  instance,  53 ;  various  vein-phenomena,  54 ;  sel- 
vages, 54 ;  ideal  section  of  a  vein,  55  ;  worthless  matter  contained  in  veins, 
55 ;  their  varying  richness,  56  ;  change  of  direction,  56  ;  'branching,  57 ; 
derangements  from  intersection,  57  ;  theories  of  the  origin  of  mineral  veins, 
59  ;  theory  of  accidental  formation,  60  ;  of  igneous  injection,  60  ;  of  subli- 
mation, 61 ;  of  aqueous  deposition,  62  ;  of  lateral  secretion,  62;  discussion 
of  circumstances  contributing  to  the  formation  of  a  lode,  63  ;  electro-chemical 
action,  65  ;  decomposition  of  upper  portion  of  lodes,  66 ;  variations  in  cha- 
racter at  different  depths,  67  ;  general  principles  of  working  of  mines,  68  ; 


Xli  CONTENTS. 


adit-level,  09  ;  removal  of  water,  69  ;  shafts,  71 ,  whether  vertical  or  on  the 
lode,  71 ;  raising  the  ore,  73  ;  levels,  74  j  sloping,  75  ;  timbering,  77  ;  mining 
of  masses,  77. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GOLD,   PLATINA,   AND    SILVER    (IX   PART). 

SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    AND    GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    GOLD. 

Mineralogical  occurrence:  forms  of  occurrence,  79  5  native  gold,  79;  alloyed 
with  silver,  79  ;  analyses  of,  80 ;  occurrence  of  gold  compared  with  that  of 
other  metals,  81 ;  alloyed  with  iron,  82  ;  form,  82  ;  geological  position  :  con- 
fined to  lowest  fossiliferous  strata,  82  ;  general  resemblance  of  gold-bearing 
rocks  everywhere,  83  ;  gold-veins  of  segregated  class,  83 ;  rarity  in  unaltered 
rocks,  84 ;  period  of  origin  of  the  veins,  85  ;  gold  actually  obtained  chiefly 
from  washings,  86  ;  its  separation  and  concentration,  86  ;  whether  due  to 
still-existing  causes,  87. 

SECTION  II. 

GENERAL    DESCRIPTION    OF    FOREIGN    GOLD    REGIONS. 

Geographical  order  followed  in  the  work,  88 ;  gold  region  of  the  Ural  and 
Siberia,  88;  Great  Britain,  90;  recent  gold-excitement  in,  91 ;  gold-quartz 
machines,  91;  Austria:  Hungary  and  Transylvania,  92;  Tyrol  and  Salz- 
burg, 93 ;  Bohemia,  93  ;  proportional  produce  of  the  different  provinces,  94: 
France :  the  Rhine,  94 ;  Spain,  95 ;  Italy,  96 ;  Central  Asia,  96  ;  Southern 
Asia,  97  ;  China  and  Japan,  97  ;  East  India  Islands,  98  ;  Africa,  98  ;  Aus- 
tralia: general  geology  of  gold  region,  99  ;  history  of  discovery  of  gold,  100  : 
its  quality,  102;  nature  of  occurrence,  103;  origin  of  the  deposits,  104; 
statistics  of  produce,  104 ;  South  America,  108  ;  New  Grenada,  109  ;  English 
companies  working  in,  110  ;  Venezuela,  110  ;  Brazil,  110  ;  geology  of  mining 
region,  111;  St.  John  del  Rev  Mine,  111;  Mexico,  113;  Central  America, 
114. 

SECTION  III. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF    GOLD    IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Two  distinct  gold  regions,  114;  stimulating  effect  of  California  discoveries, 
114;  history  of  discovery  of  gold  and  earliest  workings  in  Southern  States, 


CONTENTS. 

115;  North  Carolina,  115;  Georgia,  118;  South  Carolina,  118;  Virginia, 
gold  mines  in  1836,  119;  South  Carolina  in  1848,  120;  description  of 
Appalachian  gold  district,  121  ;  gold  in  Canada,  123 ;  Vermont,  123;  Mary- 
land, 124;  Virginia,  125  ;  companies  now  working  in :  Culpeper,  125  ;  Free- 
hold, Liberty,  Gardiner,  Marshall,  Whitehall,  126;  Waller,'  Garnett,  and 
Moseley,  127;  London  and  Virginia,  Buckingham,  128;  North  Carolina, 
129;  companies  now  working  in:  Gold  Hill,  M'Cullock,  129;  Conrad  Hill, 
Vanderburg,  130 ;  Phoenix,  Long  and  Muse's,  131  ;  Lemmond,  Capp's, 
Mecklenburg,  132  ;  South  Carolina,  133;  Dorn  Mine,  Dorn  Mining  Company, 
133;  Georgia,  134;  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  134;  New  Mexico,  134;  Cali- 
fornia, 134;  history  of  discovery  of  gold,  135;  general  description  of  the 
gold  region  and  its  geology,  137  ;  age  of  gold-bearing  slates,  139  ;  occurrence 
of  the  gold  in  washings,  140  ;  in  the  rock,  141  ;  gold-quartz  mining  com- 
panies, 142  ;  hydraulic  works,  143  ;  machines  used,  143  ;  Mint  statistics  of 
gold  produced  in  United  States,  145  ;  statistics  of  produce  of  California,  146  ; 
general  statistics  of  gold  production  :  eastern  hemisphere,  147  ;  western,  148  ; 
comparative  production  at  different  periods,  149. 

SECTION  IV. 

PLATIXA,    AND    ITS    ASSOCIATED    METALS. 

Occurrence  of  platina,  149 ;  history  and  use,  150  ;  alloys  of  other  metals  with, 
150;  geological  position,  151;  geographical  distribution:  Russia,  152; 
France,  153  ;  Germany,  Pettenkofer's  experiments,  153 ;  Spain,  154 ;  East 
India,  154;  Borneo,  154;  South  America,  155  ;  Canada,  156  ;  United  States, 
156 ;  platina  in  California  gold,  156  ;  importation  into  this  country,  157. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SILVER. 

SECTION  I. 

THE    MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE   AND    GEOLOGICAL   POSITION   OF   SILVER. 

Mineralogical  occurrence:  native  metal  and  alloys,  158  ;  amalgam,  159  ;  ores, 
159;  geological  position:  general  diffusion,  160;  sources  of  silver  of  com- 
merce, 160  ;  veins  and  masses,  161. 

SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF    SILVER    ORE. 

Norway:  Kongsberg  Mine,  162  ;  Saxony  and  Bohemia,  163;  Freiberg  mines, 
164;  Austrian  Empire,  166;  proportional  yield  of  the  different  provinces, 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

167  ;  Hungary,  167  j  gigantic  adit,  168  ;  South  America,  169  ;  Peru  :  mines 
of  Pasco,  169;  Bolivia:  mines  of  Potosi,  171  ;  Chili:  geology  and  mining 
districts,  172;  mines  of  Copiapo,  174;  Mexico,  175;  sources  of  our  know- 
ledge, 175  ;  nature  and  position  of  veins,  176  ;  English  mining  companies, 
178  ;  causes  of  their  ill-success,  179  ;  United  States,  180  ;  general  statistics 
of  produce  of  silver:  in  eastern  hemisphere,  181;  western,  182;  general 
comparative  statement,  183 ;  relative  production  of  gold  and  silver,  184 ; 
silver  as  a  standard  of  value,  185. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MERCURY. 

SECTION  I. 

MIXERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    AND    GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    THE    ORES    OF 

MERCURY. 

Mineralogical  occurrence :  native  metal,  186  ;  amalgam,  186  ;  ores,  186  ;  geolo- 
gical position,  187. 

SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    OF    MERCURY    AND    ITS    ORES. 

France,  188;  Bavaria,  188;  Austria,  188;  Spain:  antiquity  of  workings,  189; 
nature  of  deposits,  189;  yield,  190;  Tuscany,  190;  South  America:  Peru, 
191 ;  mine  of  Santa  Barbara,  191 ;  occurrence  of  native  mercury,  192  ;  New 
Grenada,  193;  Mexico,  193;  consumption  of  mercury  in,  194;  United 
States,  195;  New  Almaden  Mine,  195;  statistics  of  produce  of  mercury, 
197  ;  estimate  of  present  production,  197  ;  importation  into  this  country,  197. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TIN. 

SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    AND    GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    TIN. 

Mineralogical  occurrence  :  native  tin,  198 ;  ores,  198  ;  sources  of  supply  of  tin. 
199  ;  geological  position  :  general  mode  and  place  of  occurrence,  199  ;  forms 
of  deposits,  199;  occurrence  of  certain  metals  in  washings,  200;  minerals 
accompanying  tin,  201. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    OF    TIN. 

Great  Britain,  201 ;  general  geology  of  Cornish  mining  region,  202  5  veins 
and  fissures  in,  204 ;  occurrence  of  tin  in  Cornwall,  206 :  produce,'  207 ; 
Saxony,  209;  Austria,  210;  France,  210;  Spain,  210;  Malay  Archipelago: 
Banca,  210;  Malay  Peninsula,  212;  South  America,  212;  Mexico,  212; 
United  States,  213;  general  statistics  of  produce  of  tin,  213;  tin  commerce 
of  Great  Britain,  214;  consumption  of  tin  in  United  States,  214;  note  on 
present  produce  of  Great  Britain,  215. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

COPPER. 

SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    AND    GEOLOGICAL   POSITION   OF   THE   ORES    OP 

COPPER. 

Mineralogical  occurrence  :  general  diffusion  and  early  use,  216  ;  native  metal, 
216;  ores:  combinations  with  sulphur,  &c.,  217;  with  oxygen  and  chlo- 
rine, 218;  silicates,  219  ;  carbonates  and  sulphates,  220;  geological  posi- 
tion, 220. 

SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF    COPPER   IN   FOREIGN    COUNTRIES. 

Universal  distribution,  222  ;  Russian  Empire,  222  ;  Norway  and  Sweden,  224  ; 
Great  Britain,  226 ;  decomposition  of  upper  part  of  veins :  gossan,  226 ; 
ores  lower  down,  227  ;  influence  of  nature  of  enclosing  rock,  229  ;  variation 
in  character  in  depth,  229  ;  great  Cornish  adit,  230 ;  history  of  different 
mines :  Dolcoath,  Great  Consolidated,  Devon  Great  Consolidated,  231 ;  his- 
tory of  copper  mining  in  Cornwall,  232  ;  statistics  of  produce,  233 ;  total 
production  of  Great  Britain,  235 ;  Prussia,  235 ;  Austrian  Empire,  236 ; 
France,  237;  Spain,  238;  Italy,  238;  Turkey,  238;  Algiers,  239;  East 
India,  239  ;  Japan,  239  ;  Australia:  Burra-Burra  mine,  239  ;  Kapunda,  240  ; 
New  Zealand,  241 ;  South  America :  Peru,  241 ;  Chili,  242 ;  imports  into 
the  United  States  from,  243  ;  Cuba,  243  ;  Cobre  and  Santiago  mines,  244 ; 
imports  into  the  United  States  from,  245  ;  Jamaica,  245  j  Mexico,  245. 

SECTION  III. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF   COPPER   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Importance  of  copper  in  the  United  States,  245 ;  classification  of  deposits  of 
ores,  246  ;  copper  region  of  Lake  Superior :  history  of  discovery,  247  ;  pro- 


XV'i  CONTENTS. 

gress  of  exploration  and  development,  248 ;  speculations,  249 ;  geological 
survey,  249  ;  ancient  mining,  250 ;  general  geology  of  the  region,  251 ;  trap 
ranges,  252  ;  character  of  the  metalliferous  product,  254 ;  division  of  the 
mines  into  groups,  255 ;  Keweenaw  Point  mining  region :  geological  de- 
scription, 255  ;  character  of  the  veins,  258  ;  form  of  occurrence  of  the  cop- 
per, 260;  description  of  mines  in  the  district:  New  York  and  Michigan, 
Clark,  Washington,  Agate  Harbor,  262  ;  Native  Copper,  Eagle  Harbor, 
Copper  Falls,  263  ;  Humboldt,  Meadow,  Phoenix,  266  ;  Keweenaw  Point, 
Star,  Manitou,  268;  Iron  City,  Bluff,  Northwest,  269;  Connecticut,  Water- 
bury,  272  ;  Summit,  Dana,  Northwestern,  273  ;  Winthrop,  Eagle  River,  275  ; 
Pittsburgh  and  Boston  :  discovery  of  Cliff  Vein,  275  ;  workings,  277 ;  occur- 
rence of  silver,  278 ;  North  American :  old  mine,  279  ;  new,  or  South  Cliff 
mine,  280  ;  Albion,  Fulton,  281 ;  Manhattan,  Montreal  locations,  282  ;  Isle 
Royale :  general  description,  283 ;  mines  upon :  Siskawit,  284 ;  Pittsburgh 
and  Isle  Royale,  285  ;  Ontonagon  mining  district :  general  description,  285; 
mode  of  occurrence  of  the  copper,  286  ;  forms  of  deposit,  287  :  description 
of  mines  in  the  district:  Algonquin,  289  ;  Douglass  Houghton,  Toltec,  290  ; 
Algomah,  Aztec,  291 ;  Bohemian,  Ohio,  Adventure,  292  ;  Ridge,  Evergreen 
Bluff,  293 ;  Minnesota,  293 ;  south  lode,  295  ;  Rockland,  Flint-Steel  River, 
Peninsula,  296 ;  National,  Forest,  297  ;  Glen,  Norwich,  298 ;  Windsor, 
Ohio  Trap-Rock,  Sharon,  300  ;  Portage  Lake  district :  mode  of  occurrence 
of  the  copper,  301 ;  description  of  mines :  Isle  Royale,  Portage,  302  ;  Mon- 
tezuma,  Albion,  Quincy,  303  :  produce  of  all  the  Lake  Superior  mines,  303  ; 
amount  invested  in  them,  305  ;  their  value,  305  ;  mining  on  north  shore, 
305  ;  on  north  shore  of  Lake  Huron  :  age  of  copper-bearing  formation,  307  ; 
Bruce  mine,  307 ;  copper  deposits  of  the  Mississippi  Valley :  geological 
position,  308 ;  Wisconsin,  309 ;  Missouri,  310;  Mine  La  Motte,  310;  Cur- 
rent River  region,  311 ;  cupriferous  deposits  of  the  Atlantic  States  :  in  meta- 
morphic  rocks,  312;  their  mode  of  occurrence,  312;  Maine,  313;  New 
Hampshire,  313;  Vermont,  314;  Massachusetts,  314;  Connecticut:  Bristol 
mine,  315;  New  York,  316;  Pennsylvania,  316;  Maryland:  mines,  New 
London,  Dolly-Hide,  317;  Springfield,  Mineral  Hill,  319;  Virginia:  Ma- 
nassas  mine,  320 ;  North  Carolina :  North  Carolina  mine,  320 ;  copper  in 
the  gold  mines,  321 ;  Tennessee :  character  of  deposits,  322  ;  gossan  and 
black  ore,  322  ;  dimensions  of  veins,  323  ;  companies  working,  324 ;  copper 
ores  in  New  Red  Sandstone,  324 ;  mode  of  occurrence,  325  ;  Connecticut : 
Simsbury^  mines,  325  ;  New  Jersey,  326 ;  history  of  earlier  mining  opera- 
tions, 326 ;  copper  fever  in  1847,  328 ;  copper  at  junction  of  gneiss  and 
New  Red  Sandstone  ;  Pennsylvania,  328 ;  Perkiomen  and  Ecton  mines,  329  ; 
copper  mines  of  New  Mexico,  330  ;  general  statistics  of  production  of  cop- 
per: eastern  hemisphere,  331  ;  western,  332;  comparative  statement,  333; 
importations  and  exportations  of  copper,  &c.,  in  this  country,  333  ;  smelting 
of  copper,  334 ;  foreign  ores  smelted  at  Swansea,  335 ;  later  history  of  the 
business,  335  ;  smelting  establishments  of  this  country,  336. 


CONTENTS.  XVli 

CHAPTER   VII. 

ZINC 

SECTION  I. 

MIXERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    AND    GEOLOGICAL    POSITION   OF    THE    ORES 

OF    ZIN9- 

Mineralogical  occurrence,  recent  introduction  into  use  in  form  of  metal,  337  ; 
ores :  combinations  with  sulphur,  337  ;  with  oxygen,  338  ;  silicates,  &c., 
338  ;  geological  position :  general  diffusion,  339 ;  in  regular  veins,  339 ; 
in  beds  and  masses,  340. 

SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    ORES    OF    ZINC    IN    FOREIGN    COUNTRIES. 

Poland,  340;  Great  Britain,  340;  Belgium,  geological  formations  of,  341; 
occurrence  of  calamine  in,  342 ;  Vieille  Montagne  works,  345  ;  Nouvelle 
Montagne,  343;  produce.  344;  Prussia:  metalliferous  district  of  Silesia, 
344 ;  Westphalia  and  Rhine,  345  ;  Austria,  346. 

SECTION  III. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    ORES    OF    ZINC    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

New  Hampshire,  347 ;  New  York,  347  ;  New  Jersey :  position  of  ore-beds, 
348  ;  New  Jersey  Zinc  Company's  works,  350  ;  Pennsylvania,  351 ;  Penn- 
sylvania and  Lehigh  Zinc  Company,  351 ;  Western  lead  region,  352  ; 
general  statistics  of  production  of  zinc,  353 ;  use  of  the  oxide  as  paint,  353. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

LEAD,    AND    SILVER   IN    PART. 

SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE   AND    GEOLOGICAL   POSITION   OF    THE   ORES 

OF    LEAD. 

Mineralogical  occurrence:  native  metal,  354;  combinations  with  sulphur,  &c., 
354;  with  oxygen,  355 ;  with  chlorine,  35G ;  oxygen  salts,  356;  geological 
position,  357  :  decomposition  of  ores  at  surface,  357  ;  association  with  zinc 
and  silver,  358  ;  source  of  supply  hitherto,  358. 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  II. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    ORES    OF    LEAD    IX    FOREIGN   COUNTRIES. 

Russian  Empire,  359  ;  Sweden,  360  y  Great  Britain  :  its  importance  as  a  lead- 
producing  country,  3GO  ;  North  of  England  mining  district,  361 ;  Derby- 
shire, 362  ;  Cornwall  and  Devon,  363  ;  East  Wheal  Rose  Mine,  364  j  Car- 
diganshire and  Montgomeryshire,  365  ;  mines  of  Loginlas  and  Goginan, 
365;  yield  of  British  mines,  366;  yield  of  silver,  367;  Belgium,  367; 
Prussia,  368  ;  Harz :  its  interest  as  a  mining  district,  369  ;  geology,  369 ; 
systems  of  veins,  369 ;  history  of  mining  inr  371 ;  produce,  371  ;  Saxony, 
372;  Nassau,  372;  Baden  and  Wurtemberg,  373;  Austrian  Empire,  373; 
Spain,  history  of  mining  in,  375  ;  character  of  deposits,  377  ;  mines  of 
Almagrera,  377  ;  remarks  on  Andalusian  mines,  378  ;  English  mining 
about  Linares,  379 ;  Italy,  380  ;  France,  380;  Australia,  381. 

SECTION  III. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    ORES    OF    LEAD    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

General  diffusion  and  importance  of  lead-deposits;  381  ;  their  classification, 
382  ;  mines  of  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York,  382  ;  position  and  charac- 
ter of  deposits,  383  ;  Coal  Hill  Mine,  384  ;  Victoria  mines,  386  ;  St.  Law- 
rence, 387  ;  lead-bearing  veins  of  the  metamorphic  palaeozoic,  387  ;  reasons 
why  not  profitably  mined,  387;  Maine,  388;  Vermont,  388;  New  Hamp- 
shire, 388 ;  mines :  Eaton,  Shelburne,  389  j.  Massachusetts :  mines  of 
Northampton  and  vicinity,  390  ;  Connecticut,  392  ;  Middletown  Mine,  393  ; 
New  York,  394 ;  Pennsylvania,  396 ;  mines :  Chester  County,  Wheatley, 
397  ;  Brookdale,  Charlestown,  398 ;  North  Carolina,  398 ;  Washington 
Mine,  399  ;  lead  mines  in  unaltered  pala&ozoic  rocks,  400  ;  various  deposits 
in  New  York,  401 ;  Ulster  County  mines,  401 ;  lead  deposits  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  403 ;  history  of  their  development,  404 ;  extent  of  the  lead- 
region,  405  ;  its  geology,  406  ;  position  and  character  of  the  lead-bearing 
formation,  407;  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  lead,  410;  its  quality,  412  ; 
various  forms  of  deposits,  412  ;  veinstone,  413;  Levinsrs  lead,  414  ;  theory 
of  deposition  of  the  ore,  415;  practical  inferences,  416;  lead-region  of 
Missouri,  history  of  mining  in,  417;  its  geology,  418;  character  of  the 
deposits,  419;  smelting,  419;  statistics  of  yield  of  all  the  mines,  420; 
other  lead  deposits,  421 ;  general  statistics  of  produce  of  lead,  422  ;  com- 
parative production  of  different  countries,  423  ;  imports  and  exports  of  this 
country,  423  ;  sources  of  future  supply,  424. 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

CHAPTER  IX. 

IRON. 

SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE   AND    GEOLOGICAL   POSITION'    OF    THE   ORES 

OF    IRON. 

Mineralogical  occurrence :  general  mode  of,  425  ;  universal  distribution  and 
early  use  of  iron,  425 ;  native  iron,  426  ;  ores  :  combined  with  sulphur,  &c., 
426 ;  with  oxygen,  427 ;  silicates,  429  ;  carbonates,  &c.,  429  ;  geological 
position,  429  ;  general  classification  of  iron  ores,  430  ;  unstratified  ores :  in 
the  azoic,  430  ;  ores  of  Sweden  and  Norway :  Durocher's  classification  of, 
431 ;  their  geological  place  and  character,  431  :  eruptive  deposits  in  this 
country,  433  ;  beds  apparently  stratified,  434  ;  iron-producing  character  of 
azoic  age,  434 ;  eruptive  ores  in  more  recent  formations,  examples  of,  in 
the  Ural,  435  j  in  Elba,  436  ;  iron  ores  in  the  metamorphic  formations,  437; 
stratified  ores :  their  character  and  value,  438  ;  division  of  the  class,  438  ; 
ores  in  non-coalbearing  rocks,  439  ;  below  the  coal,  439  ;  above  it,  440 ; 
ores  in  the  coal-measures,  442  ;  iron-stones,  442  ;  black-bands,  444  ;  iron 
ores  in  tertiary  and  alluvial  formations,  444 ;  ores  of  France,  445  j  bog 
ores,  446. 

SECTION  IL 

STATISTICS    OF    IRON   IX   FOREIGN   COUNTRIES. 

Russia,  446  ;  Scandinavia,  447  ;  Great  Britain,  447  ;  sources  of  information, 
448 ;  history  of  iron  manufacture,  448  ;  introduction  of  steam-engine,  449 ; 
of  hot  blast,  449  5  of  use  of  black-bands,  450 ;  effect  of  demand  for  rail- 
ways, 451 ;  statistics  of  produce  and  trade,  452;  Belgium,  453  ;  Prussia, 
454;  Austria,  454;  other  states  of  Germany,  455;  France,  456;  Spain, 
457  ;  Italy,  457;  Switzerland,  457. 

SECTION  III. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    ORES    OF    IRON   IN   THIS    COUNTRY. 

Circumstances  affecting  the  production  of  iron,  457  ;  iron  ores  in  Maine,  458; 
New  Hampshire,  459;  Vermont,  460;  Massachusetts,  460;  tertiary  ores  of 
western  part  of  the  state,  461 ;  Connecticut,  462  ;  New  York:  eastern  part, 
463;  southeastern,  464;  northern  azoic  region,  465;  New  Jersey,  467; 
manufacture  in  Morris  County,  468  ;  Pennsylvania,  469  ;  statistics  of  manu- 
facture, 470;  Maryland,  472;  Virginia,  473;  North  Carolina,  474 ;  South 
Carolina,  474 ;  Georgia,  475  ;  Alabama,  475 ;  Tennessee,  475 ;  Kentucky, 
476  ;  Ohio,  476  :  Michigan,  477  ;  Lake  Superior  iron  region,  477  ;  Indiana 
and  Illinois,  478;  Missouri,  478 ;  Iron  Mountain,  479;  Pilot  Knob,  480  ; 
other  localities,  481 ;  Iowa,  481 ;  Wisconsin,  481  ;  British  provinces,  482; 
general  summary,  483 ;  resources  of  this  country  in  coal,  486 ;  production 


XX  CONTENTS. 

of  iron  at  different  periods,  487;  general  statistics  of  the  production  of  iron, 
488 ;  comparative  statement  of  present  production;  488 ;  our  importation, 
489 ;  exportation,  490. 

CHAPTER  X. 

METALS   NOT   USED   IX    THEIR    SIMPLE    METALLIC   FORM. 

Classification,  491,  Bismuth,  491;  its  forms  of  occurrence,  491  ;  use,  492; 
where  found  in  this  country,  493  ;  antimony,  493  ;  its  forms  of  occurrence, 
493 ;  sources  of  supply,  494 ;  use,  494 ;  Nickel,  495  ;  its  forms  of  occur- 
rence, 495  ;  use,  496  ;  whence  supplied,  496  ;  mine  of,  at  Chatham,  496  ; 
Cobalt,  497  ;  its  forms  of  occurrence,  497  ;  mine  of,  in  Norway,  498  ;  where 
found  in  this  country,  499 ;  Arsenic,  500;  Manganese,  501  ;  its  forms  of 
occurrence,  501  ;  sources  of  supply,  502  ;  use,  502;  Chromium,  502  ;  Tita- 
nium, 503  ;  Molybdenum,  503 ;  Uranium,  504 ;  Tungsten,  504. 

CHAPTER  XL 

GENERAL    SUMMARY. 

Method  pursued  in  the  work,  505  :  tables  of  present  production  of  metals 
throughout  the  world,  506  ;  remarks  on  the  statistical  tables.  508  ;  com- 
parison of  the  total  production  of  different  countries,  510. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  records  of  mining  on  the  American  Continent  form 
by  no  means  the  least  interesting  chapter  in  its  history.  The 
expectation  of  finding  a  land  possessing  greater  treasures  of 
gold  and  silver  than  existed  elsewhere,  led  to  the  discovery  . 
of  the  NQW  World,  and  was  the  predominating  motive  in  its 
settlement.  It  was  only  to  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  northern 
half  of  the  Continent,  that  colonists  came  who  were  inspired 
by  any  higher  aim  than  that  of  finding  a  recompense  for  the 
toils  and  dangers  they  had  undergone,  in  the  rich  mines  of 
the  precious  metals  which  they  were  to  discover.  These 
golden  dreams  were  not  destined  to  be  disappointed,  for  a 
land  had  indeed  been  reached  whose  realities  of  metallic 
wealth  were  capable  of  satisfying  an  almost  boundless  cu- 
pidity. Under  Spanish  dominion,  the  mines  of  Mexico  and 
South  America  poured  forth  their  treasures  of  silver  and 
gold,  and  deluged  Europe  with  an  amount  of  these  metals 
far  beyond  anything  ever  before  dreamed  of.  The  history  of 
Spanish  mining  in  America  is  too  well  known  to  require 
recapitulation  here.  Confined  almost  entirely  to  the  metals 
styled  precious,  it  conferred  neither  happiness  nor  prosperity 
on  either  country. 

The  mines  of  South  America  had  been  worked  for  nearly 
a  century  before  the  first  settlements  took  place  upon  the 
less  attractive  shores  of  the  Northern  Atlantic.  Mining 
formed  no  part  of  the  object  of  the  colonists  of  that  region, 

i 


XX11  INTRODUCTION. 

and  it  was  only  at  rare  intervals  that  some  adventurous  per- 
son attempted  it.  The  first  to  turn  his  attention  in  this 
direction  seems  to  have  been  Governor  "Winthrop,  of  Con- 
necticut, who,  from  1650  to  1660,  engaged  at  intervals  in 
examining  the  metalliferous  indications  of  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  in  the  vicinity  of  Haddam  and  Middletown.  There 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  actual  mining  was  ever  exe- 
cuted by  him. 

About  the  same  time,  the  Jesuit  Fathers  were  exploring 
the  Great  Lakes  of  the  far  distant  Northwest,  and  in  the  re- 
lations of  their  journeys  for  1659  and  1660,  we  find  the  first 
mention  of  the  copper  of  Lake  Superior,  which,  occurring 
as  it  does  in  the  native  state,  and  not  unfrequently  found  in 
loose  masses  along  the  shore  of  the  Lake,  was  well  known  to 
the  Indians,  and  could  not  escape  the  notice  of  so  observing 
travellers  as  were  Allouez  and  Marquette.  Long  previous  to 
their  time,  at  a  period  of  which  no  record  remains,  this  re- 
gion had  been  the  scene  of  extensive  mining  operations. 
The  copper-bearing  rocks  had  been  explored  throughout  their 
whole  extent,  and  even  on  the  almost  inaccessible  island  of 
Isle  Royale,  and  mining  excavations  had  been  made  at  very 
many  places.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  these  work- 
ings were  known  to  the  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  first  visits 
of  the  Jesuits ;  on  the  contrary,  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
tradition  of  them  remaining,  and  the  appearance  of  the  ex- 
cavations indicates  beyond  a  doubt  that  they  were  made  long 
before  that  period. 

Just  at  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Le 
Sueur  explored  the  Mississippi  as  far  up  as  the  St.  Peter's 
Kiver,  expressly  with  the  view  of  making  discoveries  of  the 
metals.  The  lead  deposits  of  that  region  did  not  escape  his 
notice,  but  his  real  discoveries  are  so  mixed  up  in  the  records 
of  his  journey  with  pretended  ones,  that  the  whole  account 


INTRODUCTION.  XXlii 

has  an  almost  fabulous  air.  Although  he  returned  with  a 
cargo  of  supposed  copper  ore,  of  which  he  fancied  he  had 
discovered  an  immense  mountain,  he  must  afterwards  have 
recovered  from  his  delusion,  if  such  it  was,  since  his  voyage 
led  to  no  farther  explorations. 

About  the  same  time  that  Le  Sueur  was  thus  employed,  a 
great  step  was  taken  in  New  England  by  the  erection  of  an 
iron  furnace,  which  was  probably  the  first  one  on  the  Ame- 
rican Continent.  A  business  was  thus  commenced  which 
was  destined  to  increase  with  the  growth  of  the  country,  and 
to  be  a  greater  aid  to  its  development  than  any  gold  or  silver 
mines  could  have  been. 

In  1709,  the  first  chartered  mining  company  in  the  United 
States  came  into  existence,  and  the  mining  of  copper  was 
commenced,  at  Simsbury  in  Connecticut,  where  it  appears 
probable  that  workings  were  carried  on  for  several  years,  and 
some  ore  obtained.  The  success  at  this  point  seems  to  have 
led  to  the  discovery  of  the  same  ores  in  a  similar  geological 
position  in  New  Jersey  ten  years  later,  as  it  appears  that  the 
Schuyler  Mine  was  discovered  in  1719,  and  that  considerable 
ore  was  taken  from  it  and  sent  to  England. 

In  1719  and  1720,  the  attention  of  the  French  was  directed 
to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  the  assumed  existence  of  the 
precious  metals  in  that  region  was  made  the  basis  of  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  wildest  schemes  of  speculation  ever  started. 
Both  De  Lochon  and  Renault,  accompanied  by  a  numerous 
corps  of  miners  and  mineralogists,  explored  the  country  near 
the  confluence  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  for  the  precious 
metals ;  but  their  operations  were  attended  with  no  practical 
results  beyond  the  discovery  of  the  lead  deposits,  which  were 
worked  to  a  very  limited  extent  for  a  while,  and  then,  on  the 
bursting  of  the  bubble  in  France,  entirely  abandoned. 

During  the  18th  century,  a  number  of  mining  operations  were 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

undertaken  and  carried  on  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
apparently  with  but  little  success.  Between  1750  and  1760, 
the  New  Jersey  copper  mines  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion, and  were  wrought  to  some  extent.  In  1762,  the  cobalt 
mine  in  Chatham,  Connecticut,  was  worked ;  and  about  the 
same  time,  the  Southampton  lead  mine  was  opened.  None 
of  these  enterprises  appear  to  have  been  conducted  with 
much  vigor  or  success. 

During  the  latter  part  of  this  century,  the  western  lead 
region  began  to  be  of  importance.  While  Louisiana  was  in 
the  possession  of  the  Spanish,  some  mines  were  opened  and 
wrought,  but  in  a  very  rude  manner,  the  ore  being  taken  out 
from  mere  pits,  and  smelted  on  log-heaps.  In  1798,  improved 
methods  of  mining  and  smelting  were  introduced,  and  the 
business  grew  rapidly  into  importance  as  soon  as  the  terri- 
tory was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  which  event  took  place 
in  1803.  In  1774,  Dubuque  had  commenced  operations  in 
the  Upper  Mississippi  mines,  near  the  town  which  now  bears 
his  name ;  but  it  was  not  until  half  a  century  later  that  the 
region  was  opened  to  general  settlement,  and  the  lead 
business  began  to  be  developed.  At  about  the  same  time, 
by  a  remarkable  coincidence,  the  Spanish  lead  mines  of  the 
Sierra  de  Gador  were  opened,  and  produced  immensely,  so 
that  the  price  of  that  metal  became  very  much  depressed. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  19th  century,  pieces  of  gold 
were  occasionally  found  in  North  Carolina,  and  from  1824  on, 
the  search  for  this  metal  was  carried  on  there  to  some  extent. 
In  1829  and  '30,  however,  it  became  quite  general  through- 
out the  Southern  States,  and  no  little  excitement  was  raised 
on  the  subject.  Thousands  engaged  in  the  business  of  gold- 
washing,  and  in  1833  and  '34  the  amount  collected  in  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  was 
a  million  of  dollars  a  year.  It  afterwards  fell  off  to 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

the  half  of  that  sum  for  a  few  years,  but  when  the  mines  in 
the  solid  rock  began  to  be  worked,  it  rose  again  to  more 
than  it  had  been  when  the  washings  were  most  productive. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  attempts  at  regular  mining  had  been 
few  and  far  between.  Excavations  had  been  made  in  the 
rock,  but  no  extensive,  permanent,  and  productive  mine  had 
been  opened.  The  lead  region  of  the  West  was  indeed  pro- 
ducing largely,  but  such  was  the  nature  of  the  occurrence  of 
the  ores,  that  systematic  working  and  enlarged  plans  were  not 
indispensable  to  mining  them  with  success.  And  in  other 
parts  of  the  United  States,  there  had  never  been  encourage- 
ment enough,  or  sufficient  mining  skill,  to  direct  the  invest- 
ment of  any  considerable  amount  of  capital  into  that  channel. 

But  in  the  mean  time,  the  importance  of  our  coal  and  iron 
had  begun  to  be  appreciated,  and  their  production  was  in- 
creasing with  rapidity.  In  1820,  the  first  cargo  of  anthracite 
was  sent  to  Philadelphia,  and  in  1847  our  annual  consump- 
tion had  nearly  reached  3,000,000  tons ;  while  our  production 
of  iron  was  over  500,000  tons,  placing  us  about  on  a  level 
with  France,  and  only  inferior  to  Great  Britain  as  an  iron- 
manufacturing  country. 

The  mineral  resources  of  most  of  the  different  states  had 
been  under  investigation  at  the  hands  of  the  various  state 
geologists  since  1830,  and  their  researches  had  been  of  great 
aid  in  defining  the  boundaries  of  the  different  geological  for- 
mations, and  thus  limiting  and  directing  explorations.  As 
many  of  the  persons  thus  officially  employed  were  not  prac- 
tically acquainted  with  the  nature  of  metalliferous  deposits, 
they  naturally  fell  into  some  errors  in  describing  and  recom- 
mending them  to  notice  as  worthy  of  working.  Still,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  the  most  practised  mine  inspector,  let 
it  be  one  even  who  has  spent  his  whole  life  in  comparing  the 
phenomena  of  veins  and  watching  their  actual  development, 


XXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

can  always  say  from  mere  surface  appearances  whether  there 
is  a  prospect  of  successful  working.  With  regard  to  the  ores 
of  iron,  it  is  quite  true  that  this  may  he  the  case ;  with  a 
sufficient  knowledge  of  the  subject,  the  development  of  that 
business  need  never  he  a  matter  of  uncertainty,  so  far  as  the 
occurrence,  quality,  and  quantity  of  the  ores  is  concerned. 
But  in  the  case  of  those  metals  which  are  worked  in  deep 
mines,  and  on  veins,  of  whatever  class,  it  is  often  impossible 
to  say  before  considerable  expenditure  has  been  made,  what 
are  the  chances  of  success.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  a 
new  and  unproved  region,  where  the  peculiar  phenomena  of 
the  veins  have  not  been  studied,  and  where  the  changes  of 
the  metalliferous  deposits  at  various  depths  which  are  due  to 
local  causes  have  not  been  satisfactorily  made  out. 
j  In  1844,  however,  a  new  region  was  opened  to  the  miner 
upon  Lake  Superior,  to  which  the  name  of  mining  district 
may  properly  be  applied,  since  the  veins  are  numerous,  well- 
defined,  concentrated  within  a  limited  space,  and  some  of 
them  rich  in  metallic  contents.  Thither  miners  and  specu- 
lators bent  their  steps,  and  after  a  few  years  of  wild  excite- 
ment and  hap-hazard  investments,  the  business  became 
^  firmly  established,  and  was  in  most  cases  prudently  con- 
's ducted.  About  the  same  time  that  the  first  dividend  was 
paid  on  any  mine,  other  than  those  of  coal  and  iron,  within 
the  United  States,  the  discovery  of  the  golden  treasures  of 
California  gave  an  impetus  not  only  to  searching  for  this 
metal,  but  to  mining  enterprises  of  all  kinds  throughout  the 
whole  country.  The  Atlantic  States  were  searched  from  one 
end  to  the  other ;  many  long-abandoned  mines  were  taken 
up ;  the  gold  region  of  the  Southern  States  suddenly  became 
the  scene  of  an  unheard-of  excitement,  and  the  whole  coun- 
try seemed  to  swarm  with  the  promoters  of  mining  enter- 
prises. This  general  movement  towards  the  development  of 


INTRODUCTION.  XXvii 

our  mineral  resources  was  undoubtedly  based  in  part  on  a 
sincere  belief  in  the  richness  of  our  mines,  and  the  possibi- 
lity of  new  discoveries,  which  should  furnish  an  opportunity 
for  profitable  investment ;  but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
a  large  part  of  the  excitement  which  sprang  up  in  1852  and 
'53,  on  the  subject  of  mines,  was  the  mere  blowing  up  of  a 
prodigious  bubble,  a  repetition  of  the  old  Lake  Superior 
speculations  of  1845  and  '46,  on  a  new  and  wider  field,  and 
on  a  greatly  enlarged  scale. 

The  facility  with  which  the  public  allows  itself  to  be  de- 
ceived, in  regard  to  everything  connected  with  mining,  is  as 
remarkable,  as  the  machinery  by  which  the  swindling  specu- 
lation is  organized  and  brought  into  successful  operation  is 
simple.  The  locality  is  selected,  and  visited  by  some  very  distin- 
guished  scientific  geologist,  who  for  a  sufficient  consideration 
will  write  a  sufficiently  flattering  report,  and  demonstrate  the 
absolute  certainty  of  success.  The  value  of  the  mine  is  fixed 
at  an  enormous  sum,  and  divided  into  one  or  even  two  hun- 
dred thousand  shares ;  the  company  is  organized,  and  the 
stock  brought  into  the  market.  Every  means  possible  is 
then  taken  to  inflate  its  value ;  fictitious  sales  of  ore  are  an- 
nounced ;  the  most  flattering  reports  are  received  from  the 
mine,  and  published  in  all  the  newspapers ;  the  President 
of  the  company,  wTho,  perhaps,  had  never  seen  a  mine  before 
in  his  life,  and  who  may  therefore  be  excused  for  mistaking 
iron  for  copper  pyrites,  or  perhaps  even  for  gold,  visits  the 
scene  of  action,  and  finds  the  surface  literally  "  covered  with 
stacks  of  ore;"  a  series  of  dividends  is  announced  as  about 
to  be  paid,  or  perhaps,  even,  the  ore  or  metal  from  a  neigh- 
boring mine  is  purchased  with  a  part  of  the  capital  paid  in, 
and  sold,  and  a  dividend  declared  "  from  the  proceeds  of  the 
mine;"  the  whole  machinery  of  fictitious  sales  of  stock  is 
put  in  motion,  the  stock  rises,  and  the  promoters  of  the  en- 


XXvili  INTRODUCTION. 

terprise  benevolently  allow  the  public  to  step  in  and  share 
with  them  in  the  magnificent  profits  which  are  certain  to 
accrue.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  stock  has 
been  thus  disposed  of,  and  the  getters-up  of  the  scheme  have 
pocketed  the  proceeds  of  their  skilful  manoeuvring,  the 
natural  results  follow :  the  stock,  no  longer  artificially  kept 
up,  begins  to  droop ;  one  after  another  the  deceptions  which 
have  been  practised  become  suspected ;  the  unfortunate 
holders  rush  to  dispose  of  their  shares,  but  it  is  too  late. 
The  property  which  a  few  days  before  was  quoted  at  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  can  now  hardly  be  given  away ;  the  un- 
fortunate victims  having  nothing  left  as  the  tangible  evi- 
dence of  the  brilliant  dividends  promised  but  the  elegantly 
engraved  stock  certificates,  and  the  equally  valuable  reports 
by  which  they  were  deluded. 

And  yet  the  mine,  thus  made  the  object  of  speculation, 
and  perhaps  abandoned  in  disgust,  may  be  really  of  value, 
and  capable  of  being  worked  so  as  to  pay  a  moderate  profit 
on  the  capital  actually  and  judiciously  invested  in  its  deve- 
lopment. But  the  idea  was  given  out  in  the  beginning  of 
the  enterprise  that  it  could  be  made  profitable  at  once,  and 
because  this  has  not  been  the  case,  the  holders  of  the  stock 
lose  all  confidence,  and  refuse  to  furnish  the  capital,  without 
which  hardly  any  mine,  however  rich  it  may  be,  can  be  put 
into  a  condition  in  which  it  can  for  any  length  of  time  be 
worked  with  profit.  The  system  which  prevails  in  this 
country  of  chartered  companies  with  a  large  number  of 
shares,  seems  especially  adapted  to  make  the  mining  busi- 
ness, which  contains  so  much  of  the  lottery  element  of  un- 
certainty in  it,  a  mere  object  of  stock  speculations. 

The  records  of  the  last  few  years  show  almost  without 
exception  that  companies  with  large  fictitious  capital,  and 
an  enormous  number  of  shares,  have  been  got  up  for  the 


INTRODUCTION.  Xxix 

purpose  of  swindling  the  public,  and  not  for  bona  fide  mining 
purposes.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  a  universal  rule,  that  the 
stockholders  in  a  mining  enterprise  should  be  kept  fully 
informed  in  regard  to  the  expenditures  and  operations  of  the 
company.  A  frank  and  full  publication  is  the  only  guaran- 
tee of  sincerity  and  good  faith.  When  these  things  are 
more  generally  understood,  and  the  public  refuses  any  longer 
to  be  victimized,  we  may  expect  to  see  a  less  noisy  but  far 
more  effective  development  of  our  mineral  resources  than 
we  have  yet  had. 

It  was  with  the  hope  of  aiding,  in  some  degree,  in  this 
development  that  this  work  was   commenced,  and  is,  not 
without  some  hesitation,  given  to  the  public.     It  seemed  as 
if  the  time  had  come,  when  the  history  of  our  mining  opera- 
tions should  be  taken  up,  and  our  capabilities  of  production 
in  this  department  be  made  the  subject  of  a  more  compre- 
hensive and  general  investigation  than  they  had  yet  received. 
Fully  sensible  of  the  importance  of  the  task  which  I  was 
about  to  undertake,  I  have  neglected  no  means  to  prepare 
myself  to  execute  it  with  as  much  thoroughness  as  was  con- 
sistent with  the  publication  of  the  results  within  a  reasona- 
ble time.     All  of  our  important  mining  regions  on  this  side 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  most  of  the  prominent  mines, 
have  been  visited  by  me,  some  of  them  repeatedly,  within 
the  last  few  years.     Having  also  examined  many  of  the  most 
interesting  European  mines,  I  was  enabled  to  make  use  of 
the  materials  derived  from  my  own  observations,  and  those 
published  by  others,  to  compare  our  own  metalliferous  deposits 
with  those  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent  of  Europe. 
This  seemed  to  me  to  constitute  an  important  feature  of  a 
work  of  the  kind  projected,  since  it  is  chiefly  by  comparison 
of  new  mining  districts  with  those  which  have  been  long 
worked,  that  light  can  be  thrown  on  the  former. 

2 


XXX  INTRODUCTION. 

"With  these  views,  the  arrangement  of  the  work  which  has 
been  adopted,  is  the  one  deemed  best  calculated  to  cany  out 
the  plan  proposed  by  its  title,  namely,  a  description  of  our 
metallic  wealth,  or  a  detailed  account  of  the  resources  of  this 
country  in  the  metals  and  their  ores,  and  of  the  present  state 
of  the  development  of  our  mining  interests,  as  compared 
with  those  of  other  countries.  The  first  chapter  is  devoted  to 
an  explanation  of  the  laws  which  characterize  the  deposits 
of  the  metals  and  their  ores,  and  a  brief  description  of  the 
general  methods  followed  in  mining  operations.  This 
seemed  necessary,  in  order  that  the  technical  terms  used  in 
the  course  of  the  work  might  not  be  unintelligible  to  the 
general  reader,  and  especially  that  some  clear  ideas  might  be 
impressed,  at  the  outset,  as  to  the  various  modes  of  occur- 
rence of  the  useful  ores,  and  the  importance  in  all  mining 
operations  of  carefully  recognizing  these  distinctions  in  their 
practical  bearing. 

In  the  succeeding  chapters  each  metal  is  taken  up,  and 
treated,  usually  in  separate  sections,  under  the  following 
heads :  its  mineralogical  and  geological  occurrence  ;  the  dis- 
tribution of  its  ores  in  foreign  countries ;  the  distribution  of 
its  ores  in  the  United  States.  Under  the  first  head  it  is  not 
attempted  to  give  a  full  mineralogical  description  of  all  the 
existing  ores  ;  for  this  information  recourse  may  be  had  to 
J.  D.  Dana's  standard  treatise  on  Mineralogy.  The  princi- 
pal ores  have  been  noticed,  and  such  information  of  econo- 
mical importance  given  as  seemed  required  in  order  to  throw 
light  on  the  succeeding  sections.  Under  the  head  of  the 
geological  occurrence,  the  formations  in  which  the  ores  of 
the  metal  treated  of  are  chiefly  found  are  enumerated,  and 
the  most  important  laws  of  the  veins  in  their  connection 
with  the  rocks  in  which  they  occur  are  stated. 

In  the  second  section  of  the  chapter,  a  concise  description 


INTRODUCTION.  XXxi 

is  given  of  the  principal  foreign  districts  where  the  metal 
under  consideration  is  obtained,  and  occasionally  a  more 
minute  account  of  mines  which  have  an  unusual  importance 
from  the  amount  of  their  produce,  or  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances under  which  they  are  worked. 

Finally,  the  mines  within  the  limits  of  our  own  country 
are  taken  up,  and  described  as  completely  as  the  materials 
which  could  be  collected  by  personal  examinations  and  from 
official  or  reliable  published  accounts  would  allow,  or  as  was 
deemed  essential  to  the  plan  of  the  work.  Having  no  per- 
sonal interest  in  any  mining  enterprise,  beyond  that  of  a 
sincere  wisher  that  this  branch  of  our  national  industry  may 
be  most  speedily  and  effectually  developed  with  the  smallest 
waste  of  money,  I  have  not  hesitated  to  give  my  opinions  in 
regard  to  the  value  of  some  of  our  metalliferous  deposits,  in 
the  hope  that  when  favorable  they  might  lead  to  renewed 
vigor  in  their  working,  and  that  when  unfavorable  they 
might  be  of  some  avail  in  preventing  useless  expenditures. 
Whether  my  judgments  will  prove  in  most  cases  founded  in 
truth  (that  they  should  be  so  in  all  could  not  be  expected), 
time  only  can  show.  Of  the  imperfections  and  omissions 
inseparable  from  the  first  execution  of  a  work  somewhat  new 
in  its  plan  and  object,  no  one  can  be  more  sensible  than  the 
author. 

The  statistical  portion  of  the  work  has  been  carefully 
compiled  from  the  best  accessible  data.  All  the  foreign 
weights  have  been  reduced  to  the  English  standard ;  for  this 
purpose  Mr.  J.  H.  Alexander's  excellent  work  has  usually 
been  followed  as  authority.  The  ton  of  2240  Ibs.  has  been 
used  as  the  unit  in  the  case  of  all  the  metals,  except  gold, 
silver,  and  mercury.  This  is  the  officially  recognized  weight 
of  the  ton  in  this  country  and  in  England,  and  it  seems 
hardly  worth  while  to  change  it,  unless  the  whole  absurd 


XXX11  INTRODUCTION. 

system  of  our  weights  and  measures  can  be  abolished,  and 
one  simple  and  convenient,  as  that  of  the  French  nation, 
adopted.  In  the  tables  of  English  sales  of  ores,  the  ton  of 
21  cwts.  is  used,  in  conformity  with  the  usages  of  that 
country. 

The  sections  of  the  mines  are  drawn  upon  the  same  scale, 
of  200  feet  to  the  inch,  throughout  the  work,  so  that  a  com- 
parison of  the  amount  of  ground  opened  at  any  two  different 
localities  may  be  easily  made.  The  shafts  and  levels  are 
shaded  with  heavy  oblique  lines,  and  the  ground  stoped  is 
indicated  by  the  part  in  black. 


THE 


METALLIC    WEALTH 


THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  DEPOSITS  OF  THE  METALS  AND  THEIR 
ORES,  AND  THE  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  ON  WHICH  MINING  IS 
CONDUCTED. 

BEFORE  entering  upon  a  description  of  the  mode  of  occur- 
rence and  geological  position  of  the  various  metals  and  their 
ores,  taken  singly,  it  will  be  well  to  establish  the  meaning  of 
some  of  the  more  important  terms  used  in  treating  of  subjects 
of  this  kind,  and  to  lay  down  some  general  principles  which 
the  results  of  mining-experience  have  shown  to  be  applicable 
to  mineral  and  metallic  deposits.  The  importance  of  this 
preliminary  step  will  be  acknowledged,  when  it  is  considered 
that  these  principles  are  derived  from  the  combination  and 
classification  of  facts ..  observed  in  mining  operations  all  over 
the  world,  and  that  they  form  the  basis  on  which  future 
enterprises  of  this  kind  should  be  organized.  The  results 
which  have  been  obtained  in  this  branch  of  applied  science 
are  drawn  from  a  great  variety  of  sources;  and  when  we 
reflect  on  the  expense  and  well-known  uncertainty  attendant 

3 


34  CLASSIFICATION    OF    MINERAL    DEPOSITS. 

on  mining,  it  will  be  evident  that,  amid  the  multitude  of 
isolated  facts,  to  which  every  day  is  adding,  some  general 
principles  should  he  recognized  which  may  he  relied  on  as  a 
thread  to  guide  one  through  the  lahyrinth  of  uncertainty. 

Great  as  is  the  variety  of  forms  under  which  the  metalli- 
ferous deposits  of  different  regions  appear,  and  difficult  as  it 
might  seem,  at  first  sight,  to  discern  any  fixed  laws  in  their 
development,  yet  a  general  consideration  of  their  structure 
will  justify  the  following  classification. 

I.  SUPERFICIAL. 

{a.  Constituting  the  mass  of  a  bed,  or  stratified  deposit. 
b.  Disseminated  through  sedimentary  beds. 
c.  Originally  deposited   from    aqueous  solution,  but  since 
metamorphosed 

a.  Masses  of  eruptive  origin.  ^ 

b.  Disseminated  in  eruptive  rocks. 

c.  Stockwerk  deposits.  L  A    Irregular. 

d.  Contact  deposits. 
III.  UNSTRATIFIED.  ^       -n  i ,,       i 

e.  Jbahlbancls.  J 

/.  Segregated  veins.  ^ 

g.  Gash  veins.  >  B    Regular. 

h.  True  or  fissure  veins. 

I.  SUPERFICIAL  DEPOSITS. — These  comprise  all  deposits  of 
the  metals  and  their  ores,  which  lie  loose  upon  the  surface, 
or  intermingled  with  the  superficial  formations,  the  drift,  and 
the  alluvial.  They  are  made  up  of  particles  and  rounded 
fragments  which  have  originally  formed  a  part  of  some  bed 
or  vein,  and  from  which  they  have  been  detached  by  various 
causes  similar  to  those  which  have  produced  the  great  masses 
of  clay,  sand,  and  gravel,  which  almost  everywhere  cover 
the  rocks  in  place.  Such  metalliferous  deposits  are  usually 
called  "washings,"  or  "stream-works."  Most  of  the  gold, 
and  all  the  platina  of  commerce,  is  obtained  in  this  way,  as 
also  some  of  the  tin.  Their  discovery  and  exploitation  is 
hardly  to  be  classed  under  the  head  of  mining  operations, 
although  they  furnish  large  amounts  of  the  most  valuable 
metals.  Lying  so  near  the  surface,  they  can  be  reached  by 
excavations  of  the  most  simple  character.  The  dissemination 
of  the  metallic  substances  through  the  loose  materials  in 
which  they  are  embedded  is  the  result  of  mechanical  causes, 


STRATIFIED    DEPOSITS.  35 

especially  of  currents  of  water,  which  have  torn  them  from 
their  original  bed  and  scattered  them  over  the  surface. 

II.  STRATIFIED  MINERAL  DEPOSITS. — This  class  of  deposits 
comprehends  those  masses  of  ore  which  are  included  within 
rocks  of  sedimentary  origin,  and  which  are  in  every  way 
identical  in  their  epoch  and  mode  of  formation  with  the 
strata  between  which  they  are  accumulated.  This  is  not, 
however,  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  more  valuable  metals. 
Of  all  the  metalliferous  ores,  those  of  iron  and  manganese 
only  occur  in  stratified  deposits  on  an  extensive  scale.  The 
beds  of  argillaceous  ironstone,  intercalated  among  the  shales 
of  the  coal  series,  furnish  the  most  striking  illustration  of 
this  mode  of  occurrence,  as  will  be  fully  set  forth  under  the 
head  of  the  Geological  Position  and  Mode  of  Occurrence 
of  the  Ores  of  Iron. 

There  are  also  strata  of  slaty  and  other  rocks  which  are 
impregnated  with  ore,  or  contain  it  disseminated  through 
them  in  small  particles,  so  thoroughly  intermingled  with  the 
rock  as  to  be  hardly  distinguishable  from  it.  When  such 
deposits  occur  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  when  the  ore  forms 
a  persistent  portion  of  the  stratum,  they  become  an  important 
source  of  mineral  wealth ;  although  the  percentage  of  ore  is 
usually  very  small,  yet  from  their  great  extent,  they  may  be 
capable  of  being  worked  with  profit.  Such  are  the  cupriferous 
schists  and  sandstones  of  the  Mansfeld  district  in  Prussia, 
and  the  similar  deposits  of  the  government  of  Perm  in 
Russia.  Further  on,  under  the  head  of  Copper,  a  description 
of  these  interesting  mining  regions  will  be  given. 

There  is  a  class  of  metalliferous  deposits  which  belong  to 
rocks  originally  stratified,  and  of  aqueous  origin,  but  which 
have,  since  their  deposition,  been  metamorphosed  so  as  to 
have  assumed  in  a  great  degree  the  appearance  of  igneous 
masses,  and  which  themselves  can  with  difiiculty  be  recog- 
nized as  possessing  distinctly  the  character  of  either  the  stra- 
tified or  unstratified  groups.  These  are  developed  in  the 
metamorphic  strata  of  the  palaeozoic  system,  but  especially 
in  the  azoic  rocks,  as  in  Sweden  and  in  Northern  New  York, 
where  the  immense  deposits  of  iron  ore  furnish  examples  of 
the  class  in  question.  They  invariably  coincide  in  their  line 


36  UNSTRATIFIED    DEPOSITS. 

of  greatest  linear  development  with  the  line  of  strike  of  the 
associated  rocks,  and  are  exceedingly  irregular  in  their  dimen- 
sions, expanding  to  a  great  width,  and  then  contracting  within 
very  narrow  limits.  They  usually  also  agree  in  dip  with 
the  planes  of  the  rock  enclosing  them.  Such  masses  of 
ore  seem  to  have  resulted  originally  from  aqueous  deposition, 
although  the  materials  may  in  some  instances  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  abrasion  and  destruction  of  purely  igneous 
masses.  It  is  frequently  supposed  that  these  lenticular,  or 
flattened  cylinder-shaped  deposits  have  been  forced  up  in  a 
plastic  state  from  beneath,  having  been  driven  in  between 
the  strata  like  a  wedge,  separating  them  along  the  line  of 
least  resistance.  This  theory,  however,  seems  hardly  tenable, 
when  we  consider  the  great  extent  of  such  masses,  and  the 
absence  of  rubbed  and  polished  surfaces  along  the  line  of 
contact  of  the  ore  and  the  adjacent  rock.  Moreover,  such 
masses  are  sometimes  found  thinning  out  beneath,  as  if  they 
had  occupied  a  previously-existing  depression  in  the  strata, 
before  they  had  been  elevated  from  their  original  horizontal 
position.  When  such  an  upheaval  of  metallic  matter  has 
taken  place  from  beneath,  WQ  find  the  result  of  mechanical 
displacement  and  chemical  action  in  the  surrounding  beds  to 
be  most  strongly  marked.  The  azoic  period  having  been 
one  of  long-continued  and  violent  mechanical  action,  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  many  of  the  masses  of  which  it  is 
made  up  may  have  been  derived  from  the  ruins  of  previously- 
formed  rocks  of  the  same  age,  both  sedimentary  and  igneous. 
Such  abraded  material  might  readily  have  been  swept  into 
the  depressions  of  the  surface  by  strong  currents,  such  as 
must  have  existed  in  those  times,  and  would  naturally  have 
a  very  irregular  thickness. 

m.  UNSTRATIFIED  DEPOSITS. — This  class  comprehends  most 
of  the  deposits  of  the  ores  of  the  metals,  excepting  some  of 
those  of  iron  and  manganese,  as  noticed  above.  Their  cha- 
racter is  exceedingly  varied,  and  the  phenomena  which  they 
exhibit  frequently  of  the  most  complex  kind. 

In  the  first  place,  they  may  be  divided  into  two  great 
groups,  irregular  and  regular  deposits. 

Irregular  Deposits. — These  include  first,  igneous  eruptive 


IGNEOUS     ERUPTIVE    MASSES.  87 

masses,  forming  rock  aggregations  in  every  respect  similar 
in  form  and  mode  of  occurrence  to  the  non-metalliferous 
rocks  with  which  they  are  associated.  This  class  of  deposits 
consists  chiefly  of  the  immense  masses  of  specular  and  mag- 
netic oxides  of  iron,  so  strikingly  developed  in  the  azoic 
system,  where  they  exist  in  connection  with  igneous  eruptive 
rocks,  and  apparently  under  the  same  conditions  and  with 
the  same  mode  of  occurrence.  In  Europe,  the  Elba  iron  ores 
may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  this  class  of  ore  deposits ;  in  this 
country  the  Iron  Mountain  of  Missouri,  and  the  even  more 
extensive  iron-ridges  of  Lake  Superior,  furnish  striking  ex- 
amples of  a  metalliferous  ore  existing  in  such  quantity  and 
under  such  circumstances  as  to  identify  it  geologically  with 
the  adjacent  rock-formations  and  to  cause  it  to  be  classed 
with  them,  as  having  originated  under  the  same  circum- 
stances. Such  bodies  of  ore  usually  form  ridges  parallel  with 
the  lines  of  elevation  of  the  rocky  strata  in  which  they  occur, 
or  they  may  take  the  form  of  dome-shaped  masses  which  have 
lifted  up  the  strata  on  every  side,  usually  filling  the  fractured 
envelop  with  metallic  emanations  and  showing  an  intense 
metamorphic  action,  in  the  formation  of  numerous  mineral 
substances  not  elsewhere  found  occurring  in  the  formation. 
As  might  reasonably  be  expected,  such  ore-masses  are  found 
developed  on  the  largest  scale  in  the  azoic  system,  having 
been  formed  at  a  period  in  the  geological  history  of  the  earth 
when  its  crust  was  thinnest  and  most  easily  fractured.  If 
there  have  been  eruptions  of  metalliferous  masses  during  the 
later  geological  periods,  they  have  taken  place  usually  in  a 
region  of  volcanic  fires,  or  on  deeply-seated  fissures  which 
have  remained  open  until  a  late  epoch. 

As  far  as  the  practical  application  of  mining  science  to  this 
class  of  deposits  is  concerned,  it  is  the  most  simple,  for  they  are 
developed  on  so  grand  a  scale  that  there  is  no  question  of 
exhausting  them,  and  when  worked,  it  is  generally  by  exca- 
vations of  the  nature  of  the  quarry  rather  than  of  the  mine. 
In  that  part  of  this  work  which  treats  of  the  geological  occur- 
rence of  the  ores  of  iron,  numerous  examples  will  be  given  of 
this  form  of  metalliferous  deposit,  which  is  almost  exclusively 
confined  to  that  class  of  metalliferous  products. 


38  ORES    DISSEMINATED    IN    ROCKS. 

Closely  allied  to  the  last-mentioned  class  is  that  of  the 
metals  and  ores  disseminated  in  the  eruptive  rocks,  when  the 
quantity  of  the  metalliferous  substance  has  not  been  sufficient 
to  form  a  special  deposit,  or  when  the  nature  of  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was  formed  has  not  permitted  its 
concentration.  This  is  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  platina  and 
its  associated  metals,  which  are  disseminated  through  eruptive 
trappean  or  serpentine  rocks  in  fine  particles,  and  rarely 
masses  of  a  few  pounds  in  weight ;  but  which  have  never,  thus 
far,  been  found  in  regular  veins  or  in  any  concentrated  form 
of  deposit.  Serpentine  is  frequently  accompanied  by  chromic 
iron,  which  is  disseminated  through  it  in  the  same  way,  but 
much  more  abundantly.  The  trappean  rocks  contain  fre- 
quently so  large  a  proportion  of  the  magnetic  oxide  of  iron, 
scattered  through  the  mass,  that  it  may  be  considered  one  of 
the  constituent  minerals  of  the  rock.  Thus,  in  the  mine  of 
Taberg,  in  Sweden,  the  trap  is  so  filled  with  bunches  and 
strings  of  magnetic  iron  ore  that  it  can  be  worked  to  advan- 
tage. 

But  in  general,  this  class  of  deposits  are  of  little  value, 
unless  nature  has  performed  the  operation  of  separating  the 
metallic  contents  on  a  grand  scale,  by  a  gradual  disintegra- 
tion and  removal  of  the  rocky  substance,  and  the  consequent 
concentration  of  the  much  heavier  metal  or  ore.  This  is  the 
origin  of  all  the  platina-washings,  which  metal  was  derived 
from  the  abrasion  of  a  rock  containing  it  in  so  small  a  pro- 
portion, that  it  could  never  have  been  separated,  by  artificial 
means,  with  profit. 

The  tin  mines  of  Europe  are,  many  of  them,  worked  in 
deposits  analogous  in  their  mode  of  occurrence  to  those  now 
under  consideration.  For  instance,  at  Geyer,  in  Saxony,  the 
oxide  of  tin  is  found  in  small  thread-like  veins,  and  dissemi- 
nated in  fine  particles  through  an  eruptive  dome-shaped  mass 
of  granite.  It  is  from  an  original  source  resembling  this, 
that  the  tin  of  the  washings  or  stream-works  of  England  and 
the  East  Indies  has  been  in  part  derived.  Oxide  of  tin  is 
sometimes  disseminated  in  invisible  particles  through  the 
granitic  rocks,  and  would  probably  be  frequently  found  if 
carefully  searched  for.  I  have  myself  found  0-13  per  cent,  of 


STOCKWERK    MINES. 


39 


this  substance  in  a  feldspar  from  the  Riesengebirge,  in  Silesia, 
in  which  not  a  particle  of  it  was  visible  to  the  eye. 

Closely  allied  and  passing  into  the  last-mentioned  mode 
of  occurrence  is  that  called  by  the  Germans  a  "  Stockwerk," 
a  term  which  has  been  adopted  into  French  and  English, 
although  not  always  correctly  applied.  The  stockwerk  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  small  veins,  interlacing  with  each  other  and 
ramifying  through  a  certain  portion  of  the  rock.  The  ore  is 
not  usually  entirely  confined  to  the  veins  or  branches,  but 
exists  in  the  adjacent  rock  in  considerable  quantity. 


Fig.  1. 


The  annexed  section  (Fig.  1)  represents  such  a  network 
of  veins,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  may  be  imagined  to 
traverse  the  rock. 

Such  reticulations  of  mineral  matter  are  frequently  called 
in  England,  floors,  and  in  Germany  "  Triimerstocke,"  or 
"  Stockwerke,"  in  allusion  to  the  fact  that  they  are  worked 
in  different  stages  or  stories,  one  above  the  other,  owing  to 
their  great  extent.  Such  deposits  are  usually  proportionally 
poor  in  metallic  contents,  in  an  average  of  the  whole  quan- 
tity of  rock  which  has  to  be  worked. 

The  celebrated  Carclase  tin  mine,  near  St.  Austell,  is  a 
striking  example  of  the  stockwerk  form  of  deposit.  It  was 
worked,  until  recently,  in  a  decomposed  feldspathic  granite, 
as  an  open  quarry.  The  ore  occurs  in  a  network  of  small 
veins  interlacing  with  each  other,  the  whole  of  which,  to- 
gether with  the  rock  included  between  them,  had  to  be 
removed  and  the  ore  afterwards  separated  by  hand-picking, 
stamping,  and  washing. 

There  are  other  stockwerk  mines  in  Cornwall,  most  of 
which  have  now  been  worked  out  and  abandoned.  The 
Altenberg  stockwerk,  in  Saxony,  furnishes  another  good 
example  of  this  mode  of  occurrence.  The  rock  is  a  grayish, 


40  CONTACT    DEPOSITS. 

silicious,  feldspatliic  porphyry.  The  stanniferous  mass  is 
about  1400  feet  long,  and  900  wide,  and  like  that  described 
above,  consists  of  a  great  number  of  small  veins,  which  cross 
each  other  in  every  direction.  Those  which  run  nearly  east 
and  west,  are  usually  the  widest  and  richest  in  ore.  The  en- 
closing rock  is  also  rich  enough  to  be  stamped  and  washed 
for  a  distance  of  several  feet  from  the  network  of  veins. 

In  the  phenomena  of  contact  deposits,  segregated  veins,  and 
true  veins,  there  is  a  gradual  passage  from  one  class  of  forms 
to  the  other,  so  that  it  is  not  always  easy  to  say  to  which  of 
these  divisions  a  deposit  of  ore  may  belong.  In  the  class  of 
contact  deposits,  the  ore  is  found  concentrated  between  two 
formations  of  dissimilar  geological  and  mineralogical  cha- 
racter. Where  the  strata  have  been  uplifted  and  metamor- 
phosed by  a  central  eruptive  mass,  not  unfrequently  a  band 
of  metalliferous  ore,  of  irregular  thickness,  will  be  found  ex- 
tending along  the  line  of  contact  of  the  eruptive  with  the 
metamorphosed  rock.  Or,  if  not  always  exactly  upon  the 
dividing  line  between  the  two  formations,  it  may  be  found 
perhaps  at  an  inconsiderable  distance,  and  preserving  a  ge- 
neral parallelism  with  it. 
The  annexed  figure  (2), 
illustrates,  by  an  ideal 
section,  this  mode  of 
occurrence. 

In  the  same  manner, 
beds  of  ore  may  be  found 

a.  Contact  deposit  of  ore  between  two  formations. 

between  two   successive 

overflows  of  an  igneous  rock,  or  metallic  substances  may 
occur  disseminated  through  that  portion  of  two  beds  of  rock 
which  is  adjacent  to  the  plane  of  separation  between  them ; 
in  such  a  case,  the  mineral  masses  on  each  side  of  the  ore- 
deposit  may  have  the  same  geological  position,  but  will 
usually  be  found  to  differ  in  mineralogical  character.  Far- 
ther on,  interesting  examples  of  this  mode  of  occurrence  in 
the  Lake  Superior  region,  will  be  given.  The  iron  ores  of 
the  Harz  have  a  similar  position  in  relation  to  the  eruptive 
rocks  of  that  district,  sin^e  they  follow  the  contact-planes  of 
these  igneous  masses  with  the  uplifted  slates.  The  deposits 


CONTACT    DEPOSITS.  41 

of  ore  pass  gradually  into  the  trappean  rock,  showing  that 
there  has  been  a  concentration  of  metallic  matter  at  the  junc- 
tion of  two  dissimilar  formations.  The  same  phenomena  ex- 
hibit themselves  in  the  Vosges,  near  Framont,  where  masses  of 
specular  iron  surround  a  central  nucleus  of  quartzose  porphyry, 
which  has  tilted  up  the  stratified  rocks,  while  the  ore  has  in- 
sinuated itself  into  all  the  fractures  and  cavities  thus  produced, 
lining  them  with  beautiful  crystals  and  penetrating  even  into 
the  solid  rock  itself.  At  this  locality,  and  others  resembling 
it,  the  action  may  be  considered  to  have  been  principally  of  an 
igneous  character,  the  upheaval  of  the  strata  opening  a  pas- 
sage or  chimney  for  the  passage  of  metallic  vapors  which  have 
become  condensed  in  the  fissures  thus  formed.  In  other  cases, 
the  phenomena  are  more  satisfactorily  explained,  by  supposing 
a  segregation  of  the  mineral  substance  along  the  line  of  junc- 
tion of  two  rocks  of  dissimilar  character,  under  the  influence 
of  electro-chemical  agencies.  The  copper  ores  of  Monte 
Catini,  in  Tuscany,  belong,  according  to  Burat,  to  the  class 
of  contact  deposits,  being  developed  along  the  line  of  outcrop 
of  the  gabbro,  a  rock  resulting  from  the  metamorphic  action 
of  serpentine  upon  the  strata  of  the  cretaceous  formation. 

Deposits  of  the  character  thus  indicated  are  exceedingly 
irregular  in  their  outline,  and  are  often  so  combined  with 
each  other  as  to  present  the  features  of  two  or  three  forms  at 
once,  but,  in  general,  in  their  essential  characteristics,  they 
are  allied  to  the  rocks  in  which  they  occur,  in  structure  and 
composition.  They  are  often  developed  at  certain  points  on 
so  large  a  scale  as  to  be  of  great  importance,  but  they  have 
not  that  persistence  in  depth  which  is  the  characteristic  of 
true  veins.  The  ores  which  they  furnish  are  less  crystalline 
in  their  texture,  and  are  often  quite  compact.  The  gangues 
are  also  less  distinguishable  from  the  adjoining  rocks,  and 
frequently  there  is  no  proper  veinstone  at  all.  In  every 
mining  district,  one  or  the  other  of  these  modes  of  occurrence 
usually  predominates  and  gives  a  character  to  the  workings ; 
if  the  deposits  are  of  the  irregular  class,  they  are  usually 
wrought  with  less  skill  and  capital,  although  frequently  on  a 
very  extensive  scale ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  regular 
in  their  character,  they  require  an  enlightened  system  of 


42  FAHLBANDS. 

working,  and  may  be  relied  on  as  permanent  sources  of 
metallic  wealth.  Of  this  description  are  the  mines  of  Corn- 
wall, Saxony,  and  the  Harz,  which  have  been  for  hundreds  of 
years  the  classic  regions  of  mining,  and  in  which  the  theory 
and  practice  of  this  branch  of  applied  geology  have  been 
carried  to  the  highest  perfection. 

Intermediate  between  the  regular  and  irregular  deposits  of 
the  metalliferous  ores,  are  those  forms  of  occurrence  desig- 
nated by  the  German  word  "Fahlband."  These  are  more 
strikingly  exhibited  in  Norway  than  elsewhere,  although  the 
same  character  has  been  recognized  in  other  regions  on  a  less 
extensive  scale;  and  being  in  some  respects  peculiar,  this 
mode  of  occurrence  should  not  be  overlooked  in  a  review 
of  the  forms  of  metalliferous  deposits. 

The  "Fahlbands"  (German,  Fahlband ;  plural,  Fahlbander), 
as  developed  in  the  district  of  the  Kongsberg  silver  mines, 
consist  of  parallel  belts  of  rock  of  very  considerable  length 
and  breadth,  which  are  impregnated  with  the  sulphurets  of 
iron,  copper,  and  zinc,  together  with  a  little  lead  and  silver, 
disseminated  through  the  rock  in  such  fine  particles  as  to 
be  hardly  visible,  and  only  to  be  recognized  by  their  ten- 
dency to  decompose,  and  thus  to  give  to  the  rock  in  which 
they  are  contained  a  peculiar  rotten  and  disintegrated  appear- 
ance at  the  surface;  hence  the  name  "Fahlband,"  or,  rotten 
belt,  the  word/aA?  being  a  corruption  offaul,  the  miner's  term 
for  a  rotten  or  decomposed  rock. 

In  general  these  ore-bearing  belts  are  irregular  in  their 
dimensions,  although  constantly  preserving  a  certain  degree 
of  parallelism  with  each  other.  They  may  be  traced  in  the 
Kongsberg  silver-mining  district  for  several  miles,  and  the 
greatest  breadth  of  any  one  is  about  a  thousand  feet.  The 
quantity  of  ore  contained  in  them  is  usually  too  small  to  be 
worth  working;  but  occasionally  it  is  sufficiently  concen- 
trated to  become  the  object  of  mining  enterprise.  There  are 
seven  of  these  Fahlbands  in  the  vicinity  of  Kongsberg,  and 
they  are  parallel  in  strike  and  inclination  with  the  gneissoid 
and  schistose  strata  in  which  they  occur,  and  have  the  same 
local  character  in  relation  to  disturbances  of  stratification, 
schistose  structure,  and  other  external  forms. 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    VEINS.  43 

The  fahlbands,  however,  are  themselves  traversed  by  fis- 
sure-veins bearing  argentiferous  ores,  and  the  results  of  ex- 
tensive mining  have  shown  that  these  veins  are  only  pro- 
ductive when  they  intersect  the  fahlbands,  demonstrating 
that  the  impregnation  of  the  lode  with  mineral  matter  was 
entirely  dependent  on  the  nature  of  the  adjacent  rock,  and 
furnishing  sufficient  evidence  that  the  metalliferous  particles 
in  the  veins  were  originally  derived  from  the  fahlbands,  and 
probably  concentrated  there  by  electro-chemical  action. 

This  mode  of  occurrence  will  be  recognized  as  peculiar  in 
its  character,  being  a  combination  of  two  distinct  forms  of 
metalliferous  deposits ;  but  the  fahlbands  themselves  could 
hardly  be  considered  of  much  importance,  were  it  not  for 
their  enriching  action  on  the  lodes  which  traverse  them. 
The  same  fact  is  observed  with  regard  to  the  enriching  of 
fissure-veins,  when  they  traverse  different  beds  of  rock,  even 
in  cases  where  no  perceptible  metalliferous  particles  can  be 
observed  in  any  of  them,  and  when  the  fahlband  structure 
may  be  supposed  to  be  wholly  absent.  In  such  cases,  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  chemical  examination  of 
those  beds,  in  which  a  lode  shows  itself  as  better  filled  with 
ore  than  elsewhere,  might  reveal  the  existence  of  metallife- 
rous particles  the  presence  of  which  had  been  previously  un- 
suspected, because  they  were  too  finely  disseminated  through 
the  rock,  or  were  not  of  a  nature  to  be  easily  decomposed, 
and  so  failed  to  give  a  marked  external  character  to  the 
stratum  in  which  they  occurred.  The  fahlbands  may  be 
considered  as  approaching  nearest  to  the  class  of  segregated 
veins,  which  comes  next  in  the  classification  of  metalliferous 
deposits  given  above,  and  to  these,  in  connection  with  the 
other  modes  of  occurrence  to  which  the  term  "vein"  is 
applied,  we  now  turn  our  attention. 

Regular  Deposits. — Segregated  Veins,  Gash-veins,  Fissure- 
veins. — The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  three  forms  of 
veins  indicated  above  cannot  always  be  easily  drawn,  although 
in  most  cases  the  difference  is  very  apparent,  and  in  all  is  of 
great  importance  in  judging  of  the  value  of  a  metalliferous 
deposit.  But  in  some  instances,  there  is  so  gradual  a  pas- 
sao-e  from  one  form  to  the  other,  that  surface  examinations 


44  ORIGIN    OF    VEINS. 

are  not  sufficient  to  enable  one  to  decide  the  question  of  the 
actual  existence  of  a  fissure  or  true  vein,  and  it  is  only  by 
the  indication  obtained  at  some  depth  below  the  surface,  that 
the  vein  can  be  placed  in  its  proper  class. 

By  a  vein,  as  a  geological  and  mining  term,  in  general,  is 
understood  an  aggregation  of  mineral  matter  of  indefinite  length 
and  breadth  and  comparatively  small  thickness,  differing  in  cha- 
racter from,  and  posterior  in  formation  to,  the  rocks  which  en- 
close it. 

Werner,  the  great  Saxon  geologist,  defined  veins  as  "mine- 
ral repositories  of  a  flat  or  tabular  shape,  which  traverse  the 
strata  without  regard  to  stratification,  having  the  appearance 
of  rents  or  fissures  formed  in  the  rocks,  and  afterwards  filled 
up  with  mineral  matter  differing  more  or  less  from  the  rocks 
themselves."  This  definition  would  exclude  many  veins 
which  do  not  traverse,  but  run  parallel  with  the  strata,  and 
others  which  occur  in  unstratified  rocks.  The  definition 
given  above,  of  course,  includes  veins  of  mineral  matter  not 
metalliferous,  which  are  of  frequent  occurrence ;  but,  of 
course,  of  no  importance  in  the  present  connection. 

Weissenbach,  in  a  paper  published  in  Cotta's  "  Contribu- 
tions to  the  Knowledge  of  Mineral  Veins,"  which  is  espe- 
cially devoted  to  the  subject  of  the  metalliferous  lodes  of 
Saxony,  has  given  a  general  classification  of  all  the  modes  of 
occurrence  which  can  be  brought  under  the  head  of  veins. 
He  divides  them  as  follows : — 

1.  Veins  of  Sedimentary  Origin. — Where  a  fissure  has  been 
filled  from  above  by  deposition  of  mineral  matter,  in  a  manner 
similar  to  that  in  which  the  sedimentary  rocks  themselves 
have  been  formed.  The  origin  of  these  is  exceedingly  simple, 
since  it  is  evident  that  in  the  process  of  deposition  of  any  of 
the  stratified  masses,  as  of  sandstone  or  limestone  for  in- 
stance, if  this  operation  were  going  on  in  a  region  where 
open  fissures  existed  in  the  subjacent  rock,  they  would  be 
filled  by  the  sedimentary  matter,  which  would  assume  a 
stratified  appearance  in  the  fissure  exactly  as  above  it.  The 
matter  thus  deposited  would  not  properly  be  a  metalliferous 
ore,  since  this  class  of  products  have  a  chemical  and  not  a 
mechanical  origin.  This  is  perfectly  evident,  and  it  cannot 


SEGREGATED    VEINS.  45 

fail  to  strike  one  with  surprise  that  a  theory  so  inconsistent 
with  facts  should  have  been  adopted  by  "Werner  to  account 
for  the  formation  of  metalliferous  veins.  The  whole  class  of 
veins  of  sedimentary  origin  is  of  little  importance. 

2.  Veins,  of  Attrition. — Fissures  filled  with  matter  introduced 
by  purely  mechanical  means,  such  as  by  fragments  of  the 
wall-rock  falling  from  above,  or  produced  by  friction  of  their 
sides  against  each  other.     These  phenomena  are  exhibited  in 
many  ore-bearing  veins,  in  the  formation  of  which  a  twofold 
action  was  concerned. 

3.  Veins  of  Infiltration,  or  Stalactitic  Veins. — These  result 
from  the  filling  of  fissures  by  incrustation  of  the  sides  with 
calcareous  matter  deposited  from  aqueous  solution,  in  the 
manner  of  the  stalactites  so  common  in  caverns. 

4.  Plutonic  Veins. — Fissures   filled  with  mineral  matter 
identical  with  that  of  rock  formations,  or  mountain  masses, 
and  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  by  injection,  or  pres- 
sure from  beneath  upwards,  while  in  a  plastic  state.    Such  are 
the  common  granite  veins  in  granite  or  slate. 

5.  Segregated  Veins. 

6.  Metalliferous  Veins,  proper. 

These  two  latter  classes  are  included  in  the  class  of  regular, 
unstratified  mineral  deposits,  as  previously  shown  in  the  table 
of  mineral  formations ;  the  latter  division  including  both  gash 
and  fissure  veins ;  and  they  are  the  only  ones  which  are  of 
importance  in  the  consideration  of  the  metalliferous  veins. 

Segregated  Veins. — Under  this  class  of  metalliferous  deposits 
are  included  those  vein-like  masses  which  have  a  crystalline 
structure,  or,  at  least,  a  gangue  differing  from  the  adjacent 
mass,  but  which  do  not  seem  to  occupy  a  previously  existing 
fissure  in  the  rock,  being  so  enveloped  and  limited  on  all 
sides  within  it  as  to  show  that  the  metalliferous  and  mineral 
substances  of  which  they  are  made  up  could  not  have  been 
introduced  into  their  present  position  in  any  other  way  than 
by  a  gradual  elimination  of  their  component  particles  from 
the  surrounding  formation.  This  process  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  chemical  nature,  and  one  by  which  materials  of  similar 
character  were  collected  together  from  all  directions,  or  se- 


46 


SEGREGATED    VEINS. 


gregated,  as  it  is  termed.  Of  the  conditions  under  which  the 
adjacent  rocks  must  have  heen  when  such  an  elimination  of 
their  metallic  contents  took  place,  we  know  little  with  cer- 
tainty. We  see,  however,  examples  of  segregation  in  masses 
of  lava  as  they  cool  from  a  state  of  igneous  fluidity,  when 
crystals  of  the  different  mineral  species  found  in  such  rocks 
are  found  to  have  crystallized  out  into  distinct  individuals, 
from  what  was  before  an  apparently  homogeneous  paste. 
The  same  is  true  of  granite  and  the  trappean  rocks.  In  the 
former,  the  single  crystals  sometimes  attain  a  length  of  several 
feet.  If  circumstances  cause  the  segregating  crystals  to  imi- 
tate an  elongated  mass,  we  have  at  once  the  rudimentary 
form  of  a  veinlike  mass,  which  may  continue  to  develop 
itself,  and  acquire  considerable  dimensions.  A  tendency  to 
this  separation  of  pure  quartzose  material  will  be  noticed  in 
almost  all  of  the  so-called  metamorphic  rocks,  which  fre- 
quently show  bands  of  pure  quartz,  parallel  with  each  other, 
and  lying  in  the  plane  of  stratification  of  the  enclosing  rock; 
and  it  should  be  noticed  that  quartz  is  almost  universally  the 
veinstone  of  ores  occurring  in  this  form  of  deposit. 

These  segregated  veins  differ  from  true  veins  in  some  im- 

portant respects.  In  the 
first  place,  they  usually  lie 
parallel  with  the  cleavage 
planes  of  the  formation  in 
which  they  occur,  which  is 
the  gneissic  and  schistose 
portion  of  the  metamor- 
phic palaeozoic  rocks.  The 
annexed  wood-cut  (Fig.  3), 


Fig.  3. 


a.  Segregated  mass  of  ore  cropping  out  at  the  sur-  represents  an  ideal 

b.  Parallel  layer  not  extending  upwards  so  far.         of  the  form  of  deposit  here 

under  consideration.    The 

ore-bearing  mass  may  or  may  not  appear  at  the  surface,  but 
its  extent  downwards  in  one  plane  is  not  to  be  relied  upon 
as  in  the  case  of  a  fissure-vein,  since  the  accumulation  is 
liable,  at  any  point,  to  be  found  thinning  out  in  depth,  and 
transferred  to  another  plane  as  represented  in  the  figure. 


SEGREGATED    VEINS. 


47 


Fiar.  4. 


Section  of  the  Kammelsberi 


A  striking  illustration  of  this  form  of  deposit  may  be  seen 
in  the  Rammelsberg,  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  localities 
of  the  Harz,  a  section  of  which 
is  given  in  the  annexed  cut 
(Fig.  4).  The  principal  mass 
of  ore  (a,  c),  lies  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  argillaceous  slates 
of  which  the  mountain  is  made 
up.  At  the  depth  of  about  four 
hundred  feet,  it  sends  off  a 
branch  (£),  which  dips  at  a  con- 
siderably less  angle  than  the 
slates  themselves.  The  great- 
est thickness  of  the  mass  of  ore  is  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet;  and  its  length  is  about  nineteen  hundred;  but  the 
dimensions  decrease  in  depth,  and  at  eight  hundred  feet  its 
thickness  is  about  twenty,  and  its  length  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  feet ;  so  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  mass  will 
terminate  entirely  at  a  certain  not  very  great  depth.  The 
ores  of  this  singular  mass  are  chiefly  sulphurets  of  iron,  zinc, 
lead,  and  copper,  intimately  blended  together,  and  almost 
entirely  destitute  of  gangue. 

The  auriferous  quartz-veins  of  most  gold  regions  belong  to 
this  class  of  deposits.  They  consist  of  belts  of  quartzose 
matter,  with  sulphuret  of  iron,  which  near  the  surface  is 
decomposed  into  a  hydrated  oxide,  and  contain  gold  dis- 
seminated through  these  substances,  and  sometimes  in  the 
adjoining  rock,  in  fine  particles,  or,  occasionally,  large  lumps. 
These  belts  run  with  the  strata  and  dip  with  them,  and  in 
other  respects  exhibit  the  phenomena  of  segregated  rather 
than  of  fissure-veins. 

Practically,  the  most  important  feature  of  this  class  of 
deposits  is  that  they  cannot  be  depended  on  in  depth  as  true 
veins;  as  they  seem  almost  always  to  be  richest  near  the 
surface,  and  frequently  terminate  altogether  at  no  very  con- 
siderable depth.  Nor  is  the  ore  or  metallic  matter  distributed 
through  them  with  as  much  regularity  as  in  the  true  veins, 
forming  often  a  series  of  nests  and  pockets  ranged  in  a 


48  GASH-VEINS. 

general  linear  direction,  and  connected  by  mere  threads  of 
ore  or  barren  veinstone. 

Crash-veins. — This  variety  of  mineral  deposit  holds  an  inter- 
mediate place  between  segregated  and  true  veins.  Like  the 
latter,  they  occupy  pre-existing  fissures ;  but  these  are  of 
limited  extent,  and  not  connected  with  any  extensive  move- 
ment of  the  rocky  masses.  They  are  usually  confined  to  a 
single  member  of  the  formation  in  which  they  occur,  termi- 
nating below,  when  a  marked  change  in  the  lithological  or 
mineralogical  character  of  the  rock  takes  place.  The  annexed 

cut  (Fig.  5)  represents,  in  an 
ideal  section,  the  mode  of  occur- 
rence to  which  the  name  of 
gash-veins  is  applied.  The  stra- 
tum 5,  included  between  a  and 
c,  cuts  off  the  veins  in  a  en- 

tirely,  the  fissures  not  having 

'|~~L_!j__  ^"1  — \~\\       extended  through  that  bed  at 

all.    Should  circumstances  favor, 

Gash-veins.  an(^ tne  ^e^  c  resemble  a,  similar 

fissures    may   be    found    again 

below  5,  as  represented  in  the  figure,  but  it  can  by  no  means 
be  asserted  that  they  are  the  continuations  of  the  identical 
fissures  which  were  found  in  a;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  a 
new  set,  originating  in  and  comprised  in  the  bed  <?,  as  those 
above  were  in  a.  Lateral  branches  will  usually  be  found  in 
connection  with  the  main  fissures,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
nearly  vertical,  according  to  circumstances;  but,  whatever 
their  position,  the  two  sets  of  cracks  will  be  nearly  at  right- 
angles  with  each  other,  and  will  possess  the  same  character 
in  regard  to  their  mineral  contents,  although  one  set  will 
generally  predominate  over  the  other  greatly  in  extent. 

The  origin  of  this  class  of  fissures  must,  in  all  probability, 
be  referred  to  the  contraction  of  the  rock  caused  by  shrinkage, 
either  wThile  gradually  undergoing  consolidation,  or  from  the 
effect  of  long  exposure  to  a  somewhat  elevated  temperature, 
after  a  cessation  of  which,  certain  strata  might,  on  cooling, 
under  peculiar  circumstances  of  texture  and  thickness,  be 
more  liable  to  be  fissured  than  others. 


TRUE    VEINS.  49 

The  filling  of  fissures  thus  originating  with  mineral  sub- 
stances may  have  taken  place  in  various  ways.  Most  of  them 
would  naturally  be  the  recipients  of  the  sedimentary  matter 
in  process  of  deposition,  if  they  occurred  in  strata  still  accu- 
mulating. In  a  rock  impregnated  with  metalliferous  combi- 
nations, segregation  would  more  readily  take  place  from  the 
walls  of  such  cavities,  and  their  contents  would  then  have  the 
characters  of  those  of  segregated  veins.  From  true  fissure- 
veins  they  differ  especially  in  riot  showing  as  distinctly 
marked  selvages,  and  in  having  a  less  crystalline  and  comby 
structure  of  the  veinstone.  They  are  especially  to  be  found 
in  the  unmetamorphosed  sedimentary  rocks,  where  these 
have  undergone  so  little  change  as  not  to  have  assumed  a 
thoroughly  crystalline  texture,  and  have  retained  the  ori- 
ginal lines  of  stratification,  which,  in  the  fully  altered  rocks, 
are  almost  obliterated. 

The  difference  between  segregated  and  gash-veins  may  be 
sometimes  hardly  perceptible,  but  their  origin  is  sufficiently 
distinct  to  justify  their  separation  from  each  other;  and  there 
are  mining  regions  where  the  peculiarities  of  one  form  or  the 
other  may  be  seen  with  great  distinctness.  The  latter  are 
still  less  reliable  than  the  former,  and  are  usually  soon  worked 
out  in  depth ;  but  frequently  their  number  makes  up  for  a 
want  of  continuous  extent  in  any  one  of  them,  so  that  a  region 
where  they  abound  may  furnish,  for  a  time,  a  large  amount 
of  ore. 

True  Veins. — A  true  vein  may  be  defined  as  a  fissure  in 
the  solid  crust  of  the  earth,  of  indefinite  length  or  depth, 
which  has  been  filled  more  or  less  perfectly  with  mineral 
substances  ;  or,  in  other  words,  an  aggregation  of  mineral 
matter,  accompanied  by  metalliferous  ores,  within  a  crevice 
or  fissure  which  had  its  origin  in  some  deep-seated  cause, 
and  may  be  presumed  to  extend  for  an  indefinite  distance 
downwards. 

True  veins  are  almost  universally  admitted  by  geologists 
to  have  originated  in  "  faults"  or  dislocations  caused  by  great 
dynamical  agencies  connected  with  extensive  movements  of 
the  earth's  crust,  and  for  this  reason  they  are  believed  to 


50  EXTENT    OF    VEINS. 

extend  indefinitely  downwards ;  an  assumption  which  is  sup- 
ported by  facts,  since  no  well-developed  and  defined  vein  has 
ever  been  found  entirely  terminating  in  depth.  Gash-veins, 
on  the  other  hand,  as  before  remarked,  occupying  fissures 
which  have  resulted  from  shrinkage  of  the  rock,  cannot  be 
expected  to  extend  into  strata  of  different  character  from  that 
of  the  bed  in  which  they  originated. 

Among  all  the  forms  in  which  the  metalliferous  ores  occur, 
that  of  true  veins  is  of  much  the  greatest  interest,  since  they 
are  the  principal  repositories  of  the  ores  of  the  useful  metals, 
and  their  exploitation  is  a  matter  of  lasting  importance,  in- 
volving the  employment  of  both  skill  and  capital ;  hence 
their  principal  features  require  to  be  described  somewhat  in 
detail. 

The  linear  extent  of  true  veins  is  very  various  in  different 
instances.  Some  of  the  longest  known  have  been  traced 
many  miles ;  but,  usually,  even  if  they  extend  for  so  conside- 
rable a  distance,  they  are  not  found  to  be  impregnated  with 
ore  through  the  whole  of  their  course.  The  longer  the  vein, 
as  a  general  rule,  the  more  likely  it  is  to  be,  in  some  part  of 
its  course,  rich  in  ores  :  thus,  some  of  the  great  veins  of 
Mexico,  which  have  produced  such  enormous  quantities  of 
ore,  have  been  followed  for  more  than  six  miles,  and  have  been 
opened  and  worked  in  a  great  number  of  places.  The  width 
of  a  vein  is  not  necessarily  in  relation  to  its  length ;  some, 
which  are  well-defined  and  traceable  for  a  great  distance 
longitudinally,  are  quite  narrow.  From  the  nature  of  their 
origin,  their  direction  and  dimensions  must  be  somewhat 
irregular,  since  the  two  portions  of  the  rock  on  each  side  of 
the  original  crack  having  been  moved  in  relation  to  each 
other,  the  uneven  sides  of  the  fissure  will  have  given  rise  to 
cavities  of  unequal  width.  That  such  motion  has  taken  place, 
is  abundantly  proved,  in  numerous  instances,  by  the  actual  dis- 
placement of  strata  or  mineral  masses  once  evidently  con- 
tinuous and  now  removed  to  a  greater  or  less  distance  from 
each  other  both  in  a  vertical  and  a  horizontal  direction.  Such 
cracks  frequently  exist  in  the  stratified  rocks,  and  have  not 
been  filled  up  with  mineral  and  metallic  substances ;  in  such 
cases,  when  there  has  been  a  perceptible  vertical  movement 


NATURE    OF    VEINSTONES.  51 

of  the  two  sides  in  regard  to  each  other,  the  break  of  con- 
tinuity is  called  a  "fault." 

Fissures  thus  formed  may  have  been  the  receptacles  of 
mineral  matter  unconnected  with  any  metalliferous  ores,  as 
in  the  case  of  dykes  of  trap  or  veins  of  granite,  which  are 
usually  considered  to  have  assumed  their  present  position 
while  in  a  plastic  state.  The  filling  of  cracks  in  such  cases 
was  a  process  of  short  duration  compared  with  the  time  re- 
quired for  the  formation  of  veins  containing  metallic  matter. 
In  other  instances  there  may  be  regular  veinstone  accumu- 
lated between  the  walls  of  a  fissure,  and  yet  ore  be  entirely 
wanting ;  but  it  is  rare  that  this  is  the  case,  since  in  almost 
every  vein  in  which  mineral  matter  has  slowly  gathered, 
there  have  been  metallic  substances  present  in  some  part  of 
its  course,  during  some  part  of  the  time  of  its  formation. 

In  regard  to  the  occurrence  of  true  metalliferous  veins, 
there  is  no  fact  more  striking  than  that  they  are  rarely  found 
singly,  but  rather  in  groups,  often  in  a  complicated  network 
crowded  into  a  comparatively  narrow  space.  The  great 
mining  regions  occupy  but  a  small  part  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face; while  very  extensive  tracts  are  almost  wholly  desti- 
tute of  metalliferous  indications.  Let  any  one  take  a  map 
of  Europe,  and  color  upon  it  the  best-known  mining  districts, 
which  furnish  the  larger  portion  of  the  metals  to  commerce, 
and  he  will  be  astonished  at  the  small  space  which  they 
cover.  The  groups  of  veins  of  the  Cornish  and  Saxon  mining 
districts  are  so  complicated  in  their  number  and  variety  of 
relations  to  each  other,  that  centuries  of  working  upon  them 
have  not  yet  fully  developed  even  the  more  important  facts 
with  regard  to  them. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  vein-fissure  is  occupied  almost 
invariably  by  the  "gangue"  or  "veinstone."  This  is  the 
earthy  or  non-metallic  portion  of  the  lode  or  vein,  consisting 
of  mineral  substances,  of  which  a  few  are  of  almost  universal 
occurrence  as  associates  of  valuable  ores.  The  principal  one 
of  these  is  quartz,  which  may  be  said  to  be  almost  never 
absent  entirely  from  any  vein.  It  occurs  in  a  great  variety 
of  forms,  usually  more  or  less  crystalline,  sometimes  beauti- 


52  COMBY    STRUCTURE    OF    VEINSTONES. 

fully  so,  especially  in  "vugs"  or  cavities  of  the  vein.  Next 
to  quartz,  carbonate  of  lime  is  most  common,  in  the  form  of 
calcareous  spar,  sometimes  compact,  and  sometimes  crystal- 
lized, and  often  passing  into  brown-spar  and  dolomite.  Fluor- 
spar and  heavy  spar  are  also  minerals  of  frequent  occurrence 
as  veinstones.  Sometimes  these  substances  form  the  entire 
mass  of  the  vein  for  some  distance,  either  singly  or  together, 
and  are  completely  destitute  of  metallic  ores ;  but  this  is  not 
usually  the  case. 

The  various  minerals  which  make  up  the  body  of  the  lode 
are  frequently  arranged  in  a  succession  of  plates  parallel  to 
its  walls.     Usually,  these  plates,  or  combs, 
h  as  they  are  called,  are  made  up  of  aggre- 
gations of  crystalline  matter,  the  separate 
crystals  of  which  have  their  axes  at  right- 
angles  to  the  wall  of  the  lode,  and  are 
developed  on  the  side  turned  towards  its 
centre.     The  annexed  figure  (Fig.  6)  repre- 
sents part  of  a  lode  at  Wheal  Julia,  near 
/'"       Binner  Downs,   in   Cornwall.*     In   this, 
a,  Bisuiphuret  of  copper  which  furnishes  a  good  example  of  a  comby 

iof  stracture'  we  see  a  central  predominating 
indurated  argillaceous  mat-  mass  of  crystalline  quartz  (e),  on  each  side 

ter;  d,  comb  of  quartz;  e,       j?        i   •    i  n  //»/.\ 

larger  comb  of  quartz,  with   °f  whlch    ™Q    SeamS    <>f  COpper    OTQ    (/,  /). 

blende  and  copper  ore  (/,/)  This  constitutes  the  main  body  of  the  lode. 

on  both  sides;  g,  cavity,  or   -r»,  .-•   .  -,  i  -i      i 

vug,  in  another  comb  of  -Between  this  central  comb  and  the  walls 
quam;  h,  more  solid  comb  are  two  smaller  combs  of  the  same  mate- 

of  quartz. 

rial,  on  each  side,  separated,  in  one  instance, 
as  seen  at  c,  by  a  partition  of  earthy  matter.  Each  comb 
consists  of  two  corresponding  portions,  whose  crystalline 
faces  meet  and  interlock  towards  its  centre. 

These  appearances  indicate  a  long-continued  chemical 
action,  occasionally  broken  off,  and  then  renewed ;  the  mate- 
rials held  in  solution  within  the  space  of  the  vein,  or  gradu- 
ally segregating  from  its  walls,  varying  in  character  at  dif- 
ferent times.  Sometimes  a  fissure  may  have  been  reopened, 
after  having  been  once  filled  up  with  mineral  matter,  and 

*  De  La  Beche's  Geology  of  Cornwall,  p.  340. 


COMBY    STRUCTURE    OF    VEINSTONES. 


53 


may  thus  have  afforded  space  for  another  deposition  of  vein- 
stone. There  are  cases  where  this  enlarging  of  the  cavity  of 
the  vein  seems  to  have  heen  repeated,  at  intervals,  several 
times  in  succession,  the  thickness  of  each  comh  indicating 
the  width  of  the  fissure  at  the  time  of  its  deposition,  crystal- 
lization commencing  on  the  walls  as  bases,  and  developing 
towards  the  centre,  until  the  whole  s^pace  was  filled  up. 

In  other  comby  lodes  the  width  of  the  fissure  remained 
the  same,  and  a  succession  of  deposits  took  place  against  its 
sides,  the  nature  of  the  material  varying  at  different  periods, 
so  that  a  section  of  the  lode  shows  a  series  of  various  mineral 
substances  arranged  in  corresponding  parallel  layers  on  each 
side  of  the  centre.  A  beautiful  instance  of  this  mode  of  filling 
a  vein-fissure  may  be  seen  in  the  annexed  figure  (Fig.  7), 


Fig.  7. 


000 

o    c*o  S'o  S 


2  £    S  •§  £,Sb  25 

g   S      g     =   ca  £-a     §B 
SO"      fa     Wffic«S     far^ 


abcdefghik  k  i   h      g  f  e  d    c       ba 

Fragment  of  the  Drei  Prinzen  Spat  Vein,  near  Freiberg. 

from  Weissenbach's  "  Illustrations  of  Eemarkable  Vein-phe- 
nomena," which  represents  a  fragment  of  the  "Drei  Prin- 
zen Spat"  Vein,  near  Freiberg  in  Saxony.  Next  to  the  walls 
on  each  side  is  a  crystallized  deposit  of  blende  (a  a);  to 
this  succeed  layers  of  quartz,  followed  by  others  of  fluor-spar, 
sulphuret  of  iron  and  heavy  spar,  as  indicated  in  the  figure, 


54  SELVAGES. 

each  comb  on  one  side  having  one  exactly  corresponding  on 
the  other,  while  the  middle  portion  is  occupied  by  crystal- 
lized calc.  spar,  with  a  cavity  in  the  centre,  the  whole  showing 
eleven  symmetrical  repetitions  of  six  different  mineral  sub- 
stances. Such  perfect  symmetry  is,  however,  not  often  met 
with,  and  frequently  the  whole  mass  of  the  vein  seems  to 
have  been  formed  by  one  uninterrupted  process. 

Every  mineral  district  seems  to  have  certain  veinstones,  as 
well  as  ores,  in  a  measure  peculiar  to  itself,  and  the  locality 
of  an  ore  may  frequently  be  recognized  by  a  simple  inspection 
of  a  fragment  of  the  accompanying  gangue. 

Besides  the  veinstones  proper  of  a  lode,  there  are  frequently 
found  enclosed  in  it  fragments  of  the  adjacent  strata  or  wall- 
rock,  which  have  been  introduced  mechanically.  These  may 
have  fallen  in,  in  some  cases,  from  the  surface,  or  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  fissure  the  rock  may  have  been  crushed  and 
broken  into  fragments,  which  have  afterwards  been  cemented 
together  by  the  gangue,  so  as  to  form  a  brecciated  vein.  The 
fissure  itself  is  frequently  of  a  complex  character,  forming 
parallel  branches,  and  sending  out  ramifications  from  the 
main  line  of  fracture.  Sometimes  these  strings  are  so  nume- 
rous and  irregular  that  the  main  fissure  becomes  lost,  and  can 
no  longer  be  recognized  by  the  miner.  When  a  large  mass 
of  the  wall-rock  is  thus  enclosed  between  the  branches  of  a 
vein,  it  is  called  by  the  miners  a  "horse,"  or  the  vein  is  said 
to  "take  ahorse."  The  vein-fissure  is  sometimes  abruptly 
contracted,  so  as  to  show  nothing  more  than  a  simple  crack ; 
in  this  case  it  is  said  to  be  "  nipped."  The  branches  which 
leave  the  main  lode  are  called  "droppers,"  and  when  they 
concentrate  or  fall  into  it  again  they  receive  the  name  of 
"feeders."  The  direction  and  appearance  of  these  off-shoots 
are  closely  watched  by  the  miner  in  opening  an  untried  vein, 
and  from  them  he  forms  an  opinion  as  to  what  parts  of  the 
lode  are  likely  to  prove  richest  in  ore. 

The  mass  of  the  veinstone  is  usually  separated  from  the 
wall,  by  what  are  called  "selvages"  (French,  salbandes;  Ger- 
man, saalbdnder).  These  are  usually  thin  bands  of  clayey 
matter,  and  are  of  importance,  since  they  prevent  the  adhe- 


SECTION    OF    A    VEIN. 


55 


rence  of  the  lode  to  the  wall-rock,  and  of  course  facilitate  its 
removal.  The  walls  of  the  vein,  themselves,  are  frequently 
smoothed  and  striated,  as  if  there  had  been  motion  of  the 
lode  on  its  wall,  accompanied  by  pressure :  these  polished 
surfaces  are  called  "slickensides." 

The  annexed  ideal  section  of  a  part  of  a  vein  (Fig.  8),  will 

Fig.  8. 


Transverse  section  of  a  vein. 

serve  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  various  technical  terms  used 
in  speaking  of  a  vein,  and  its  connection  with  the  rock. 
Cornish  miners  having  been  first  and  most  extensively  em- 
ployed in  mining  in  this  country,  their  terms  have  been 
generally  adopted,  as  they  are  in  England,  from  the  fact  that 
Cornwall  is  the  most  extensive  mining  district  in  that  country. 
It  has  already  been  noticed,  that  the  metalliferous  portion 
of  a  lode,  or  the  really  valuable  ore,  makes  up,  usually,  but 
a  small  portion  of  its  contents.  The  barren  or  worthless 
mineral  substances  extracted  from  the  lode,  and  from  the 
adjacent  rock,  in  the  process  of  removing  the  vein,  are  called 
deads,  or  attle.  But  few  veins  are  sufficiently  rich  through- 


56  SITUATION    OF    ORE    IN    THE    VEIN. 

out  the  whole  extent  of  the  mine  in  which  they  are  worked 
to  allow  of  their  being  removed  entirely.  Frequently  a  large 
part  of  the  lode  is  left  standing,  or  unexcavated,  while  only 
the  rich  bunches  of  ore  are  taken  out  and  raised  to  the  sur- 
face. The  occurrence  of  these  rich  deposits  of  ore  in  a  vein 
is  a  matter  of  great  uncertainty,  and  only  to  be  judged  of  by 
the  miner,  after  a  careful  observation  of  the  district  in  which 
he  is  working.  Some  varieties  of  rock,  or  strata  of  peculiar 
mineralogical  character,  may  be  found,  in  certain  districts, 
particularly  rich  in  ore ;  and,  in  such  cases,  the  right  kind  of 
"  country"  will  be  sought  for  by  the  miner,  and  the  work- 
ings on  the  vein  developed  to  as  great  an  extent  as  possible 
in  that  rock.  In  other  regions,  when  there  are  numerous 
parallel,  or  similarly  situated  veins,  the  run  of  the  courses  of 
ore  (their  situation  in  regard  to  the  vein)  having  been  deter- 
mined in  one  case,  the  same  rule  may  be  found  to  apply  to 
others.  The  differences  in  the  character  of  two  rocks,  one  of 
which  may  be  highly  favorable  to  the  development  of  a  rich 
lode,  and  the  other  just  the  contrary,  are  often  not  of  a  kind 
to  be  easily  expressed  in  words.  Long  practice,  and  a  well- 
trained  eye,  may  be  required,  to  decide  at  once  which  pre- 
sents the  most  favorable  appearance.  Nor  does  the  same 
rule  seem  to  hold  good  in  different  districts,  for  the  forma- 
tion, which  in  one  is  productive,  will  sometimes  be  found 
barren  in  another.  Hence  miners,  with  certain  fixed  ideas, 
derived  from  the  observation  of  a  limited  district,  are  apt  to 
be  led  entirely  astray,  when  they  insist  on  applying  the  same 
rules  to  another  mining  region. 

Since  the  crevices  occupied  by  veins  have  resulted  from 
dislocations  of  the  rocks  in  which  they  occur,  and  since  their 
formation  has  not  been  confined  to  any  particular  geological 
epoch,  it  follows  that  there  may  be,  in  any  one  formation,  a 
variety  of  fissures  of  different  ages  and  directions.  This  is 
found  to  be  the  case  in  many  important  mining  regions,  and 
the  phenomena  resulting  from  their  influence  on  each  other 
are  often  of  great  interest.  The  direction  of  a  vein  may 
sometimes  be  altered  suddenly  by  a  change  in  the  course  of 
the  fissure,  without  being  heaved  out  of  its  course,  as  it  is 


INTERSECTION    OF    VEINS. 


57 


Thus,  in  the  an- 


Fig. 


Section  of  a  vein  at  Holzappel. 


termed,  by  the  intersection  of  another, 
nexed  cut  (Fig.  9),  which 
represents  a  transverse  sec- 
tion of  a  vein  at  Holzappel, 
in  Baden,  where  the  vein 
coincides  in  dip  with  the 
strata,  and  has  been  shifted 
from  one  plane  to  another, 
a  distance  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet,  without  any  dis- 
location having  taken  place 
in  the  rocks.  The  fissure 
still  connected  the  two  por- 
tions of  the  vein,  but  was 
so  indistinctly  marked  that 
the  level  was  driven  through 
it,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  without  its  having  been  perceived ; 
and  it  was  only  found  again  by  sinking,  when  it  was  struck, 
having  the  same  characters  as  before. 

In  a  similar  manner,  a  true  fissure-vein  may  at  some  part 
of  its  course  seem  to  coincide  with  the  dip  of  the  strata  and 
actually  send  out  branches 
which  follow  the  lines  of  dip 
or  cleavage ;  and  yet  the  main 
fissure  may  pursue  its  course 
across  the  lines  of  bedding, 
although  only  cutting  them  at 
an  acute  angle,  as  represented 
in  the  section  (Fig.  10).  In 
such  a  case  it  may  not  be  pos- 
sible, without  sinking  upon 
the  lode  for  some  distance,  to 
ascertain  its  real  character  as  a  true  vein.  The  branches 
which  are  parallel  with  the  stratification  may  be  regarded  as 
occupying  fissures  subordinate  to  the  main  one,  which  have 
been  opened  along  the  line  of  easiest  fracture. 

The  derangements  caused  by  veins  of  different  ages  and 
directions  crossing  are  of  great  interest.  If  a  vein  traverses 
an  older  one  it  interrupts  its  continuity,  and  frequently 


Fig.  10. 


Veins,  sending  out  branches  which  coincide 
with  the  bedding  of  the  rock. 


58  SYSTEMS    OF    VEINS. 

"heaves"  it  to  one  side  or  the  other.  Two  systems  of  veins 
thus  crossing  each  other,  may  in  their  turn  be  both  inter- 
sected by  a  third  and  still  newer  one,  which  may  heave  the 
other  two.  Instances  of  this  kind  are  common  in  mining 
districts  which  have  been  subject  to  frequent  dislocations. 
The  newer  vein  intersecting  an  older  one  at  a  considerable 
angle  is  called  a  "cross-course,"  or  a  " contra-lode ;"  the 
latter  name  being  usually  applied  to  the  intersecting  vein 
if  it  contain  valuable  ores.  In  Cornwall,  there  are  several 
systems  of  fissures,  producing  in  many  instances  a  compli- 
cated shifting  of  the  veins.  The  general  parallelism  of  veins 
of  the  same  age  is  remarkable  in  many  parts  of  that  region, 
and  generally  in  all  districts  where  there  are  numerous  fis- 
sures of  different  ages :  it  is  also  noticed  that  contempora- 
neous veins  are  not  only  parallel  with  each  other,  but  that 
they  usually  contain  the  same  varieties  of  ore  associated  with 
similar  veinstones.  In  the  Harz,  there  are  two  principal  di- 
rections of  fracture  ;  the  Samson,  the  most  powerful  lode  of 
the  district,  cutting  and  heaving  the  Gnade  Gottes  and  Berg- 
mann's  Trost,  two  other  important  veins.  The  most  interest- 
ing and  complicated  phenomena  of  the  intersection  of  numer- 
ous systems  of  veins  are  presented  by  the  Freiberg  district, 
in  Saxony,  where  extended  mining  operations  have  been  car- 
ried on  for  a  great  length  of  time,  and  have  been  studied  by 
a  skilful  corps  of  mining  engineers  and  professors  attached 
to  the  School  of  Mines  at  that  place.  More  than  900  dif- 
ferent veins  have  been  recognized  within  a  space  ten  or 
eleven  miles  in  length,  by  four  or  five  in  breadth.  They  are 
grouped  by  "Weissenbach  into  four  classes,  according  to  the 
nature  of  their  gangues ;  each  of  which  is  also  in  some 
measure  characterized  by  certain  ores,  and  by  a  constant 
direction. 

In  this  country  there  have  been  no  such  complicated  phe- 
nomena of  veins  of  different  ages  observed.  In  the  region  to 
which  most  properly  the  term  mining  district  may  be  ap- 
plied, namely,  that  of  Lake  Superior,  there  are  numerous 
veins,  but  they  do  not  afford  evidence  of  more  than  one 
epoch  of  formation.  In  any  limited  district,  as  for  instance 
that  of  Keweenaw  Point,  the  veins  are  nearly  parallel  with 


THEORY    OF     MINERAL    VEINS. 


59 


Fig.  11. 


each  other,  and  are  not  intersected  by  cross-courses  which 
heave  them  from  their  course.  In  a  few  instances  there  seem 
to  have  been  slips  of  the  different  beds  of  rock  upon  each  other, 
which  have  shifted  the  veins  at  the  junction  for  a  few  feet  to 
one  side  or  the  other.  In  the  Southern  States  the  metalli- 
ferous deposits  usually  lie  in  the  direction  of  the  stratifica- 
tion, belonging  to  the  class  of  segregated  veins,  and  are  not 
crossed  by  any  fissure-veins.  It  will  not  therefore  be  neces- 
sary to  go  into  any  lengthened  description  of  the  particular 
appearances  attendant  on  such  intersections,  especially  as 
they  differ  much  in  different  districts.  In  general,  however, 
the  crossing  of  two 
veins  is  wont  to 
be  considered  as  ad- 
vantageous to  the 
production  of  ore  at 
that  spot,  and  rich 
bunches  of  mineral 
are  looked  for  by 
the  miner  at  their 
intersection,  especi- 
ally if  the  angle  at 
which  they  meet  is 
a  small  one.  Some- 
times one  lode  im- 
poverishes the  other 
for  some  distance, 
carrying  all  the  ore 
with  it.  As  an  in- 
stance of  this  appearance  presented  by  two  lodes  intersecting 
each  other,  the  annexed  cut  (Fig.  11)  is  given,  representing 
one  lode  crossing  another  as  sketched  by  Weissenbach. 

Theories  of  the  Formation  of  Mineral  Veins. — Although  a  full 
discussion  of  the  various  theories  of  the  formation  of  metalli- 
ferous deposits  would  occupy  much  more  space  than  can  be 
given  to  the  subject  in  the  present  work,  yet  it  will  not  be 
out  of  place  ^to  notice  briefly  some  of  the  most  important 
theoretical  considerations  which  the  study  of  vein-phenomena 


Ground  plan  of  the  intersection  of  veins  in  the  Himmelfahrt 
mine,  near  Freiberg. 


60  THEORY    OF    INJECTION. 

suggests.     The  following  are  the  principal  heads  under  which 
the  theories  which  have  been  proposed  may  be  arranged. 

1.  The  veins  originated  contemporaneously  with  the  rock  in 
which  they  are  contained,  and  are,  so  to  speak,  a  mere  acci- 
dental phenomenon,  not  governed  by  any  fixed  laws  of  for- 
mation.    This  theory  may  be  dismissed  at  once,  as  entirely 
at  variance  with  all  the  facts,  and  as  unworthy  of  conside- 
ration. 

2.  Veins  have  originated  in  the  filling  of  fissures,  by  injec- 
tion of  metallic  and  mineral  matter  in  a  state  of  igneous 
fluidity  from  below.     This  is  the  theory  usually  adopted  to 
account  for  the  phenomena  of  the  veins  of  so  called  igneous 
rocks,  such  as  granite  and  trap ;  which,  like  modern  lava,  are 
supposed  to  have  been  once  in  a  plastic  or  semi-fluid  state, 
under  the  influence  of  a  high  temperature,  and  in  such  a  con- 
dition to  have  invaded  the   superincumbent   rocks,  being 
forced  into  the  crevices  by  upward  pressure.     However  such 
a  theory  may  adapt  itself  to  the  Plutonic  veins,  it  cannot  be 
considered  as  explaining  the  modes  of  formation  of  metalli- 
ferous lodes.     It  fails  to  account  for,  or  rather  is  contradicted 
by,  the  often  observed  fact,  that  the  character  of  the  lode 
changes  with  the  rock  in  which  it  is  found,  being  rich  in  ore 
in  one  formation,  and  barren  in  another  adjacent  one.     This 
could  not  be  the  case  if  the  vein  had  been  forced  up  through 
the  strata,  as  the  nature  of  the  rocks  through  which  it  was 
raised  could  have  had  no  influence  on  its  contents,  the  action 
being  but  momentary  and  mechanical.     Besides,  if  we  con- 
sider the  immense  force  which  must  have  been  required  for 
such  an  upward  motion  as  this  theory  supposes,  it  will  be 
apparent  that,  had  it  really  taken  place,  evidence  of  its  exis- 
tence must  have  remained  in  the  widening  out  of  fissures  in 
depth,  and  in  the  shattered  condition  of  their  walls ;  while 
there  would  have  been  a  constant  tendency  in  the   more 
valuable  metalliferous    substances,  being  heavier  than   the 
veinstone  itself,  to  occupy  the  lowest  position  in  the  vein. 
Such    phenomena,  however,  have    only  been    observed  in 
isolated  cases,  while  usually  the  appearance  of  the  walls  and 
the  distribution  of  the  mineral  matter  and  ore  between  them 


THEORY    OP    SUBLIMATION.  61 

in  true  metalliferous  veins,  is  such  as  to  make  this  hypothesis 
of  their  formation  entirely  untenable. 

3.  The  theory  of  formation  by  sublimation,  according  to 
which  vein-fissures  were  filled  by  the  volatilization  of  metallic 
matter  from  the  great  centre  of  chemical  action  beneath, 
namely,  the  ignited  interior  of  the  earth.  That  such  may 
have  been  the  origin  of  some  metalliferous  deposits,  and  that 
this  agency  may  have  contributed  in  some  degree  to  the 
filling  of  veins,  cannot  be  denied.  The  fact  of  the  volatility 
of  some  metallic  combinations  is  well  known,  and  can  be 
observed  at  the  present  day  in  the  products  of  volcanic  ejec- 
tions. Evidence  of  the  same  character  is  afforded,  in  some 
instances,  by  the  position  of  metalliferous  particles  on  the 
under  side  of  crystals  lining  the  walls  of  a  lode ;  as,  for 
instance,  at  Nagyag,  in  Transylvania,  where  metallic  arsenic 
is  seen  to  have  been  sublimed  and  deposited  on  those  faces 
of  crystals  of  manganese-spar  which  were  turned  downwards. 
Specular  iron  is  found  sublimed  into  the  fissures  of  volcanic 
craters,  and  sometimes  carried  to  a  considerable  distance,  and 
deposited.  But  these  phenomena  are  of  limited  extent,  and 
not  by  any  means  sufficient  to  account  for  the  existence  of 
the  masses  of  ore  and  of  earthy  minerals  filling  the  body  of 
a  large  vein.  Neither  would  such  a  theory  account  for  the 
variation  in  the  character  of  lodes  in  passing  from  one  kind 
of  rock  to  another,  nor  for  the  presence  in  them  of  substances 
not  volatile  in  their  nature,  nor  for  any  of  the  complicated 
phenomena  exhibited  by  veins  in  their  intersections  with 
each  other.  Hence  we  must  conceive  that  the  agency  of 
sublimation  was  of  very  secondary  importance  in  the  forma- 
tion of  regular  metalliferous  veins.  In  contact  deposits,  and 
some  other  irregular  forms  o£  occurrence,  where  the  whole 
mass  of  a  bed  seems  to  have  been  impregnated  equally 
throughout  by  metallic  particles,  as  especially  exemplified  in 
some  mercury  mines,  we  can  conceive  of  no  theory  more 
probable  than  that  of  the  diffusion  of  the  metallic  matter 
through  them  by  sublimation.  Thus  originated  the  exten- 
sive beds  worked  at  Almaden,  so  rich  in  mercury ;  and  they 
offer  the  most  striking  example  which  can  be  given  of  the 
class  of  deposits  to  which  this  theory  may  be  applied. 


62         THEORY  OF  LATERAL  SECRETION. 

4.  The  theory  proposed  by  Werner,  which  may  be  called 
that  of  aqueous  deposition,  presupposes  a  chemical  solution 
covering  the  region  in  which  the  veins  are  found,  from  which 
solution,  by  chemical  precipitation  from  above  downwards, 
the  vein-matter  was  accumulated  in  the  fissures  existing  in 
the  rocks  below.     This  theory  is  in  direct  opposition  to  that 
of  igneous  injection,  since,  according  to  its  principles,  the 
origin  of  the  contents  of  veins  was  a  superficial  one,  their 
introduction  into  the  fissures  from  above  instead  of  from 
below,  and  the  action  a  chemical  instead  of  a  mechanical 
one.     But,  in  the  sense  in  which  this  mode  of  formation  was 
understood  by  Werner,  but  little  importance  can  be  attached 
to  it.     If  any  such  fluid  holding  metalliferous  substances  in 
solution  had  actually  covered  the  surface,  we  can  conceive 
of  no  reason  why  it  should  have  deposited  its  contents  in  the 
fissures  rather  than  on  the  surface  adjacent;  and  we  ought, 
in  accordance  with  his  ideas,  to  find  every  vein  connected 
with  a  flat  sheet  of  metalliferous  ore  somewhere  along  its 
course,  at  the  place  which  the  solution  occupied  in  the  series 
of  formations  at  the  time  of  the  filling  of  the  vein-fissure. 
Such,  however,  is  not  the  case,  at  least  in  regard  to  true 
veins;   although  there  may  be  a  limited  class  of  mineral 
deposits  to  which  this  theory  will  apply.     Besides,  if  deposi- 
tion in  veins  took  place  in  this  manner,  we  should  expect  to 
find  more  or  less  matter  introduced  at  the  same  time,  mecha- 
nically, and  showing  its  origin  by  its  stratified  condition. 
There  is  nothing  of  this  kind,  however,  observed  in  true  veins. 
The  deposits  all  took  place  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  walls, 
and  not  horizontally,  as  they  would  have  been,  in  part,  under 
the  circumstances  required  by  this  theory.     There  are  many 
other  reasons,  equally  conclusive,  against  the  ideas  of  Werner ; 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  them  at  length,  since  his 
theoretical  views  with  regard  to  the  origin  of  veins  have  ceased 
to  have  the  weight  which  was  once  attached  to  them. 

5.  The  theory  of  lateral  secretion.     The  views  which  are 
at  present  most  generally  adopted,  assume  a  somewhat  com- 
plicated series  of  phenomena  as  concurring  in  the  formation 
of  mineral  veins.     It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  process  has 
been  a  complex  one,  and  one  requiring  a  long  period  of  time 


LATERAL    SECRETION.  63 

for  its  development.  No  one  simple  cause  can  be  considered 
sufficient  to  account  for  all  the  facts,  but  the  main  idea  is 
that  of  lateral  secretion,  or  segregation  of  the  mineral  and 
metalliferous  particles  from  the  adjoining  rocks  in  a  state  of 
chemical  solution,  and  their  deposition  upon  the  sides  of  a 
previously-formed  fissure  under  the  influence  of  electro-che- 
mical forces.  This  is  the  only  theory  which  will  account  for 
the  often  noticed  fact  of  the  change  in  character  of  a  lode  in 
passing  from  one  geological  or  mineral ogical  formation  to  ano- 
ther of  a  different  character,  and  it  seems  to  be  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  other  phenomena  of  veins  than  any  other 
one  yet  proposed. 

The  metallic  appearance  of  the  most  common  ores  and  their 
resemblance  to  certain  well-known  furnace  products,  are 
apt  to  lead  to  the  supposition  that  they  must  be  exclusively 
of  igneous  origin,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
mineralizing  substances  with  which  the  ^metals  are  generally 
found  combined  are  such  as  have  the  effect  of  rendering 
them  more  volatile.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  some  ores  and 
metals  do  occur  in  rocks  of  undoubted  igneous  character  in 
such  a  way  that  they  must  have  had  an  origin  contemporaneous 
with  that  of  the  mass  in  which  they  are  disseminated.  But 
these  deposits  do  not  belong  to  the  class  of  regular  veins,  in 
general,  but  are  to  be  classed,  as  already  shown,  among  the 
irregular  modes  of  occurrence.  The  metalliferous  substances 
produced  artificially,  and  found  filling  cracks  and  cavities  in 
connection  with  furnaces,  and  in  the  chimneys  of  smelting- 
works,  do  not  seem  to  possess  that  comby  structure,  or  parallel 
arrangement  so  characteristic  of  true  veins.  If  metalliferous 
particles  were  introduced  into  a  vein-fissure  by  sublimation, 
they  would  naturally  rise  and  be  condensed  together  in  accu- 
mulated masses,  which  might  have  a  crystalline  structure,  but 
would  be  distributed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  their  igneous 
origin. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  know  that  the  earthy  substances 
forming  the  gangue  of  metalliferous  lodes,  and  usually  far 
predominating  in  quantity  over  the  ores  themselves,  are  not 
the  products  of  igneous  action.  The  minerals  which  form 
the  mass  of  the  trappean  rocks  and  of  volcanic  lavas,  such  as 


64  THEORY    OF    VEINS. 

the  feldspar  family,  hornblende,  augite,  olivine,  and  the 
like,  are  not  the  usual  components  of  the  veinstones,  as 
we  should  suppose  would  have  been  the  case,  were  the 
veins  in  which  they  occur  the  result  of  igneous  action.  On 
the  contrary,  we  know  that  the  usual  gangue  minerals,  quartz, 
calcareous  spar,  and  heavy  spar,  according  to  the  researches 
of  Bischof  and  other  eminent  chemists,  cannot  possibly  have 
been  introduced  into  vein-fissures  by  injection  while  in  a 
state  of  igneous  fluidity,  or  by  sublimation.  We  know  also 
that  some  of  the  ores  accompanying  these  veinstones  un- 
dergo decomposition  at  a  high  temperature ;  and  many  of  the 
most  common,  such  as  the  sulphurets  of  iron  and  lead,  we 
see  in  constant  process  of  formation  in  aqueous  solutions,  at 
the  present  time.  The  sulphuret  of  iron  is  one  of  the  most 
common  products,  where  ferruginous  waters  are  brought 
into  contact  with  decaying  organic  matter ;  and  it  is  also  one 
of  the  precipitates  from  hot  springs.  It  has  been  shown  by 
Murchison  that  the  copper  ores  of  the  Permian  strata  of 
Russia  must  have  originated  in  a  similar  way,  since  they  are 
accumulated  around  and  on  the  surface  of  the  carbonized 
remains  of  the  stems  and  branches  of  plants. 

Fissures  being  opened  far  down  into  the  heated  interior  of 
the  earth,  they  would  become  filled  with  water  charged  with 
various  kinds  of  metallic  and  mineral  substances.  In  their 
passage  through  rocks  of  various  characters  these  solutions 
would  be  variously  acted  on,  and  would,  under  hydrostatic 
pressure,  penetrate  more  or  less  deep  into  the  surrounding 
strata,  according  to  their  texture  and  other  circumstances. 
If  the  water  was  acidiferous,  it  might  thus  combine  directly 
with  metalliferous  particles,  previously  existing  there.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  contents  of  a  vein-fissure  have  often 
acted  chemically  upon  the  adjacent  rocks,  since  it  is  very 
frequently  found  that  the  walls  have  undergone  a  great 
change  for  a  considerable  distance  from  the  lode ;  often  the 
"country"  is  found  decomposed  and  rotten,  its  texture  being 
entirely  destroyed  ;  or  it  is  impregnated  with  silicious  matter, 
so  as  to  be  much  harder  and  more  quartzose  than  at  some 
distance  from  the  lode.  -These  hardened  silicified  masses  are 
called  by  the  Cornish  miners  the  capels  of  the  lode. 


ELECTRICAL    CURRENTS    IN    VEINS.  65 

Under  the  presupposed  circumstances,  it  is  evident  that 
a  fissure  being  filled  with  solutions  thus  originating,  there 
would  be  ample  reason  why  there  should  be  deposits  of  ore 
within  the  limits  of  certain  strata,  in  preference  to  others. 
Either  those  beds  might  themselves  contain  more  metallife- 
rous substances,  which  would  enter  into  solution,  to  be  again 
deposited  within  the  walls  of  the  fissure,  or  there  might  be 
something  in  their  structure  which  would  enable  them  to  act 
with  more  efficiency  in  decomposing  the  solutions  brought 
from  other  sources,  by  circulation  of  the  column  of  water 
filling  the  cavity  of  the  vein. 

"We  cannot  doubt  that  electro-chemical  action  is,  and  has 
been  going  on  in  mineral  veins,  and  that  the  explanation  of 
many  of  the  more  obscure  facts  with  regard  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  ores  within  them  is  to  be  found  in  this  all-perva- 
ding agency. 

Mix  Robert  Were  Fox  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  be 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  electric  currents  might,  "not 
only  contribute  to  produce  the  extraordinary  aggregation, 
and  position  of  homogeneous  minerals  in  veins,"  but  that 
the  action  was  still  kept  up  in  them,  and  he  instituted  a 
series  of  experiments  in  the  Cornish  mines,  for  the  purpose 
of  determining  this  fact.  He  found  the  mine-waters  to  be 
impregnated  with  a  variety  of  salts,  but  in  very  different  pro- 
portions in  different  parts  of  the  same  mine.  He  also  found 
by  numerous  experiments  that  the  reaction  of  these  solutions 
on  each  other,  and  their  contact  with  extensive  surfaces  of 
rocks  of  different  characters,  gave  rise  to  electrical  currents, 
the  effect  of  which  was  to  promote  decomposition  and  depo- 
sition of  various  mineral  substances,  similar  to  those  found 
occurring  in  veins.  He  thus  was  enabled  to  account  for  some 
of  the  most  curious  facts  in  relation  to  the  position  of  the 
ores  in  the  Cornish  mines.  Professor  Reich,  in  the  Freiberg 
mines,  arrived  at  similar  results,  and  Mr.  Robert  Hunt  also 
made  numerous  experiments,  determining  the  existence  of 
galvano-electric  currents  in  the  veins  of  Cornwall,  and  pro- 
ducing chemical  decomposition  by  their  aid.  He  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  these  currents  were  purely  local  in  their 
nature,  originating  in  the  decompositions  going  on  in  the 


GO  DECOMPOSITION    OF    VEINS. 

vein  itself,  and  not  connected  with  the  great  magnetic  forces 
which  sweep  around  the  earth. 

Whether  or  not  it  be  allowed  that  these  electro-chemical 
currents  performed  a  very  important  part  in  the  original  for- 
mation of  veins,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  in  the  chemical 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  upper  portions  of 
metalliferous  lodes,  and  which  are  evidently  still  going  on, 
they  were  and  are  conspicuous  agents.  These  changes  of 
character  are  well  recognized  in  all  mining  districts.  They 
are  usually  indicated  on  the  surface  by  a  discoloration  of  the 
lode  by  oxide  of  iron,  and  a  general  rotten  appearance  of  the 
veinstone.  The  Germans  call  this  the  "  iron  hat"  of  the 
vein,  the  Cornish  give  to  it  the  name  of  "gossan."  In  the 
cupriferous  lodes  of  Cornwall,  the  normal  ore,  below  the  point 
to  which  decomposition  has  reached,  is  copper  pyrites,  or 
sulphuret  of  iron,  and  copper,  and  other  sulphurets  of  copper. 
But  near  the  surface,  the  metalliferous  ores,  instead  of  the 
sulphurets,  are  oxides  and  oxidized  compounds,  such  as  sili- 
cates, carbonates,  and  phosphates.  Often  a  large  portion  or 
all  of  the  copper  near  the  surface  has  been  removed,  having 
been  oxidized  to  sulphate  of  copper,  and  dissolved  out  and 
washed  away,  leaving  the  iron  mixed  with  the  quartzose  vein- 
stone, in  the  form  of  a  hydrated  oxide,  or  gossan.  Similar 
appearances  are  presented  by  lodes  containing  lead  ores,  the 
sulphuret  of  lead,  or  galena,  which  is  almost  the  only  ore 
found  in  any  considerable  quantity  at  some  depth,  being,  near 
the  surface,  converted  into  a  great  variety  of  oxidized  combi- 
nations, of  which  the  carbonate,  sulphate,  and  phosphate  are 
the  most  common. 

In  general,  this  zone  of  decomposition  does  not  reach  much 
below  one  hundred  feet,  but  in  some  instances  it  penetrates 
to  the  depth  of  three  hundred,  and  there  are,  on  the  other 
hand,  veins  in  which  no  such  chemical  changes  have  taken 
place,  the  original  sulphurets  existing  undecomposed  almost 
at  the  very  surface.  The  causes  which  have  operated  in 
accelerating  and  retarding  these  transformations  are  not  quite 
clearly  understood.  Bischof  has  shown  that  heated  steam 
has  been  one  of  the  most  powerful  agents  in  the  decomposi- 
tion of  the  contents  of  veins,  and  that  it  has  been  most  effec- 


TERMINATION    OF    VEINS    IN    DEPTH.  67 

tually  aided  by  carbonic  acid.  In  order  to  prove  this,  he 
subjected  sulphuret  of  lead,  while  heated,  to  the  influence  of 
a  current  of  steam,  which  reduced  the  galena  to  metallic  lead, 
the  sulphur  passing  off  in  the  form  of  sulphydric  and  sulphu- 
rous acid  gases.  Sulphuret  of  silver  is  reduced  in  the  same 
way,  the  resulting  metal  taking  that  dendritic  form  which  it 
commonly  has  in  its  associations  with  the  ores  of  lead  and 
silver.  The  reduced  metals  thus  set  free,  if  they  belong  to 
the  oxidizable  class,  are  then  ready  to  enter  into  combina- 
tion with  the  various  acids  everywhere  being  liberated  under 
electro-chemical  agencies.  No  doubt  the  effect  of  atmo- 
spheric influence  is  to  be  largely  taken  into  account  also, 
since  these  changes  are  principally  superficial  only,  compared 
with  the  total  depth  to  which  the  ores  are  found  to  extend. 
The  penetration  of  water  charged  with  oxygen  into  the  fissures 
and  minute  pores  of  the  rocks  must  be  in  some  degree  essential 
to  these  processes.  To  give  any  idea  of  the  complicated 
changes  thus  slowly  taking  place  in  many  lodes,  would  require 
far  more  space  than  the  object  and  scope  of  the  present  work 
could  permit ;  it  is  sufficient  here  to  have  indicated  some  of 
the  causes  at  work  in  the  formation  and  transformation  of 
mineral  veins.* 

The  variations  of  the  metalliferous  portions  of  lodes  at  dif- 
ferent stages  are  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  miner,  not 
only  in  relation  to  the  changes  which  the  ores  have  under- 
gone near  the  surface,  but  as  viewed  in  connection  with 
their  persistence  in  mines  worked  to  great  depths.  In  this 
country  we  have  hardly  more  than  begun  to  open  our  mines, 
so  that  we  have  but  little  more  than  superficial  indications 
to  judge  from  ;  but  in  the  mining  districts  of  Europe,  which 
have  been  wrought  for  centuries,  there  are  abundant  data 
accumulated  to  enable  us  to  draw  some  important  conclu- 
sions in  regard  to  the  termination  of  veins  in  depth.  The 
distinction  between  true  veins  and  all  other  forms  of  occur- 
rence of  ores  must  be  carefully  studied  in  reference  to  this 
question,  or  otherwise  it  will  be  difficult  to  obtain  a  clear 

*  For  further  information  in  regard  to  this  class  of  snVjwt.",  the  reader  is  referred 
to  G.  Bischof's  '-Lehrbuch  der  Chemist-hen  und  Pbysikaliscberi  Geologic,"  which 
has  been  in  course  of  publication  since  1847. 


68  GENERAL     PRINCIPLES    OF    MINING. 

conception  of  the  truth.     The  facts  may  be  briefly  summed 
up  thus : — 

1.  True  fissure-veins  are  continuous  in  depth,  and  their 
metalliferous  contents  have  not  been  found  to  be  exhausted, 
or  to  have  sensibly  and  permanently  decreased,  at  any  depth 
which  has  yet  been  attained  by  mining. 

2.  Segregated  and  gash-veins,  and  the  irregular  deposits 
of  ore  not  included  under  the  head  of  veins  and  not  occur- 
ring in  masses  as  part  of  the  formation,  cannot  be  depended 
on  as  persistent,  and  ^hey  generally  thin  out  and  disappear 
at  a  not  inconsiderable  depth ;  at  the  same  time  they  are 
often  richer  for  a  certain  distance,  and  contain  larger  accu- 
mulations of  ore,  than  true  veins,  so  that  they  may  be  worked 
for  a  considerable  time  with  'greater  profit  than  these,  al- 
though not  to  be  considered  as  of  the  same  permanent  value. 
Of  these  assertions,  many  illustrations  will  be  given  in  the 
course  of  this  work,  so  that  a  clear  idea  may  be  formed  of 
the  distinction  which  is  here  intended  to  be  drawn  between 
deposits  of  a  persistent  and  those  of  a  temporary  character. 

THE    GENERAL    PRINCIPLES    ON    WHICH    THE    CONTENTS    OF   A  VEIN    OF    MODERATE 
WIDTH    ARE    REMOVED. 

In  order  to  render  the  descriptions  of  mines  and  mining 
operations  in  the  succeeding  chapters  more  intelligible  to 
those  who  have  never  given  their  attention  to  these  subjects, 
it  is  proposed  to  add  a  few  pages  on  the  general  principles 
of  exploitation;  by  which  term  is  understood  the  process  by 
which  ores  and  minerals  of  value  are  won  from  their  natural 
position,  often  at  great  depths  below  the  surface,  and  brought 
where  they  can  be  rendered  available.  Those  who  are  not 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  such  operations,  and  who  have 
never  had  occasion  to  reason  on  the  many  circumstances 
which  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  laying  them  out, 
frequently  suppose  that  a  mine  is  a  mere  excavation  in  the 
ground  without  law  or  rule,  and  that  this,  which  would  seem 
to  them  to  be  the  simplest  method,  would  be  also  the  best 
for  such  a  work.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  truth ; 
for  to  open  a  mine,  if  on  a  vein  or  regular  deposit  of  ore,  and 
work  it  as  an  excavation  open  to  the  air,  or  as  an  open-cut,  is 


THE    ADIT-LEVEL.  69 

quite  impossible,  if  it  is  necessary  to  go  below  the  most  mo- 
derate depth.  And  such  is  the  case  with  metalliferous  lodes, 
the  superficial  portion  of  which,  for  some  distance  down,  is 
often  less  valuable  than  that  below,  and  sometimes  of  no 
value  at  all.  Moreover,  the  richest  part  of  a  vein  is  usually 
of  limited  extent,  and  its  treasures  can  only  be  won  by  pene- 
trating into  the  earth  to  great  depths.  To  raise  the  ore  from 
such  a  distance  beneath  the  surface,  requires  powerful  machi- 
nery which  must  be  placed  on  firm  ground  directly  over  the 
vein.  The  surface-water  and  rain  must  be  kept  from  run- 
ning into  the  excavations,  which  could  not  be  done  were 
they  open,  throughout,  to  the  day  ;  and  as  the  freeing  of  a 
mine  from  water  is  frequently  one  of  the  most  expensive 
operations  connected  with  its  working,  the  greatest  care 
should  be  taken  to  get  rid  of  as  much  as  possible  in  the 
simplest  and  least  expensive  manner.  Again,  it  is  necessary 
that  mining  should  be  carried  on  uninterruptedly  by  night 
and  day,  and  in  all  weathers,  since  only  a  limited  number  of 
persons  can  be  usefully  employed  at  one  time  ;  also  that  a 
system  of  ventilation  should  be  kept  up  ;  all  of  which  would 
be  impossible,  were  the  excavations  exposed  to  the  weather, 
or  the  mine  made  to  consist  of  a  single  open  cavity. 

The  first  operation  in  opening  a  mine  is  usually  to  remove 
the  surface-water  by  driving  an  adit-level  or  horizontal  gallery, 
which  shall  com- 

,.  Fiff.12. 

mence    in    an    adja- 


cent  valley,  at  the 
lowest  point  not  lia- 
ble to  inundation  and 
conveniently  accessi- 
ble, and  thus  drain 
all  that  part  of  the 

Transverse  section  of  a  shaft  and  adit-level. 

proposed  work  which 

lies  above.  Figures  12  and  13  illustrate  the  position  and 
object  of  the  adit-level.  In  extensive  mines  large  sums  are 
frequently  expended  in  thus  getting  rid  of  the  water ;  some- 
times a  number  of  mines  are  drained  by  a  simple  adit  of 
great  length  driven  at  their  joint  expense,  or  that  of  the  state, 
when  the  work  is  of  great  magnitude.  So  long  as  the  exca- 


70  VENTILATION    BY    SHAFTS. 

vations  in  the  mine  are  kept  above  the  level  of  the  adit,  no 
machinery  for  pumping  is  required ;  and  when  extended  in 
depth  below  it,  the  water  is  elevated  by  the  pump  or  other 
contrivances  employed,  only  up  to  that  point ;  thus,  in  a  very 
extensive  mine,  every  foot  through  which  a  large  body  of 
water  is  to  be  raised,  which  can  be  saved,  is  of  importance, 
and  large  sums  of  money  may  be  economically  expended  in 
obtaining  even  a  small  reduction  of  the  distance. 

Frequently  only  a  few  feet  of  "back,"  as  it  is  called,  or  of 
perpendicular  height  above  the  adit-level  can  be  obtained ; 
but,  in  other  cases,  by  an  adit  planned  with  judgment, 
several  hundred  feet  of  drainage  may  be  obtained,  so  that 
mining  may  be  carried  on  for  a  long  time  without  the  ex- 
pense of  costly  machinery  for  pumping.  If  possible,  the  adit 
should  be  driven  on  the  vein,  or  by  the  side  of  it,  so  that  its 
character  and  richness  may  be  ascertained  by  breaking  into 
it  occasionally  as  the  work  progresses.  A  large  number  of 
the  Lake  Superior  mines  are  thus  favorably  situated;  and 
extensive  drainage  may  be  had  at  the  same  time  that  the 
vein  is  proved  in  depth. 

If  sufficient  advantages  present  themselves  for  the  location 
of  machinery  for  washing  and  dressing  the  ores  at  the  mouth 
of  the  adit-level,  they  may  be  brought  out  on  a  tram-road 
laid  in  the  level,  and  the  necessity  of  hoisting  them  to  the 
surface  by  machinery  may  thus  be  obviated.  If  the  adit-level 
cannot  be  excavated  on  the  vein,  it  must  be  driven  to  it,  as 
represented  in  Fig.  12,  and  the  levels  are  then  to  be  extended 
on  it  right  and  left.  In  a  region  where  the  veins  run  in  a 
direction  parallel  with  the  range  of  elevations,  it  will  generally 
be  necessary  to  drive  the  adit-level  through  the  "country;" 
but  if  the  vein  cross  the  ridges  at  an  angle,  it  will  also  cross 
the  nearest  valleys  on  each  side  of  the  elevation,  and  may  be 
worked  from  one  side  or  the  other.  In  the  majority  of  cases, 
however,  the  adit-level  is  only  used  to  remove  the  surface- 
water,  but  few  mines  being  so  favorably  situated  as  to  have 
a  very  large  portion  of  their  work  above  it. 

As  the  necessity  of  ventilation  would  not  allow  the  adit- 
level  to  be  driven  to  an  indefinite  distance  without  some 
communication  with  the  surface,  so  as  to  establish  a  current 


POSITION    OF    SHAFTS.  71 

of  air  through  it,  it  becomes  necessary  to  commence  excava- 
tions on  or  near  the  line  of  the  veins,  which  may  intersect 
the  adit,  or  a  cross-cut  or  level  leading  from  it,  and  which 
are  carried  down  to  a  still  greater  depth  for  the  purpose  of 
opening  and  working  the  mine.    These  excavations,  whether 
vertical  or  inclined,  are  called  shafts.     Their  inclination  de- 
pends on  a  variety  of  circumstances,  such  as  the  underlay  of 
the  vein,  or  the  angle  which  it  makes  with  the  perpendicular, 
its  width,  or  the  nature  of  the  rock  in  which  it  occurs.     If 
the  vein  approach  a  vertical  position  the  shafts  are  usually 
sunk  upon  it,  unless  its  underlay  is  so  irregular  as  to  spoil 
the  shaft  by  making  it  too  crooked,  in  which  case  it  is  sunk 
by  the  side  of  the  vein,  and  connected  with  it  by  cross-cuts. 
In  Fig.  12,  a  shaft  thus  sunk  on  a  vein  of  generally  regular 
underlay  is  represented.     Whether  a  shaft  shall  be  sunk  on 
the  vein,  so  as  to  include  the  vein  within  it,  or  by  the  side  of 
it,  is  also  dependent  on  some  other  circumstances.     If  the  lode 
is  wide  and  the  veinstone  such  that  it  can  be  wrought  with 
as  much  facility  as  the  adjoining  rock,  it  is  best  to  sink  in 
the  vein  itself,  especially  when  its  dip  is  nearly  vertical,  and 
the  country  solid,  so  that  but  little  ground  need  be  left  stand- 
ing in  the  lode  to  support  the  walls,  and  preserve  the  shaft. 
In  the  mines  of  Lake  Superior  this   method  is  generally 
followed. 

If  the  vein  has  an  underlay  as  great  as  45°,  it  is  a  matter  of 
some  importance  to  know  whether  it  is  best  to  work  the 
mine  through  shafts  inclining  with  the  vein,  or  by  vertical 
shafts  connected  with  it  by  cross-cuts.  The  latter  method  is 
illustrated  by  the  annexed  ideal  section  (Fig.  13).  In  such 
a  case  a  shaft  is  commenced  at  some  distance  from  the  lode, 
in  the  direction  from  its  outcrop  towards  which  it  dips,  and 
sunk  perpendicularly  until  it  cuts  the  lode,  at  a  point  the 
depth  of  which  can  be  calculated  if  its  dip  is  known ;  after 
intersecting  the  lode  it  may  be  continued  below  it,  and  cross- 
cuts must  be  driven  as  before  at  suitable  distances,  so  as  to 
open  a  sufficient  number  of  points  for  working.  If  there  are 
several  different  lodes  within  a  small  space,  as  represented  in 
the  figure,  or  if  it  is  desirable  to  make  underground  explora- 
tions for  veins  not  supposed  to  appear  at  the  surface,  the 


72 


POSITION    OF    SHAFTS. 


method  of  sinking  vertical  shafts  is  to  be  recommended.  In 
the  English  mines  the  practice  of  sinking  shafts  inclining 
with  the  lodes  has  not  generally  been  adopted;  although, 


Fig.  13. 


Ideal  section  of  a  system  of  shafts  for  opening  a  mine  on  several  parallel  lodes. 

when  it  can  be  done,  it  presents  some  great  advantages  over 
the  other  method,  a  large  amount  of  unprofitable  excavation 
in  the  rock,  or  dead-work  as  it  is  called,  in  cross-cutting  from 
the  shaft  to  the  lode,  being  thus  saved.  This  method  may 
be  recommended  when  the  dip  of  the  lode  is  tolerably  regular 
and  the  rock  solid,  and  where  there  is  only  one  vein  to  be 
worked  through  the  same  shaft.  In  order  to  raise  the  ore  in 
such  a  case  with  advantage,  a  double  tram-road  should  be 
laid  in  the  shaft,  and  the  ore  hauled  up  in  cars  which  run 
from  the  levels  directly  on  to  small  platforms,  mounted  on 
wheels,  on  which  they  are  raised  to  the  surface.  In  the  Lake 
Superior  region,  where  there  are  numerous  veins  underlaying 
from  40°  to  50°,  the  shafts  are  invariably  carried  down  on 
the  lodes,  and  no  practical  difficulty  experienced;  on  the 
contrary,  it  has  proved  the  most  economical  and  judicious 
method  under  the  circumstances.  In  the  Southern  gold 
mines,  where  the  rocks  are  frequently  decomposed  and 
softened,  so  that  for  the  first  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  sinking 
costs  but  little,  the  shafts  are  generally  vertical.  If  the 
underlay  of  the  lode  is  very  irregular,  it  is  better  not  to  sink 
upon  it,  as  crooked  shafts  present  many  disadvantages  in 


RAISING    THE    ORE.  73 

fitting  up  the  machinery  for  pumping,  tram-roads,  and  other 
requisites. 

The  dimensions  of  a  shaft  are  variable,  and  dependent  on 
the  work  to  be  done  by  its  aid ;  when  it  is  to  be  used  for 
winding  up  the  kibbles,  or  buckets  of  ore,  and  at  the  same 
time  as  an  "  engine-shaft,"  or  the  shaft  in  which  the  pump- 
ing machinery  is  placed,  it  should  be  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
feet  long,  and  is  usually  from  six  to  eight  feet  in  width. 
Shafts  which  have  to  be  timbered  up  for  the  whole,  or  a 
portion,  of  their  length,  are  square  or  rectangular;  those 
which  are  built  up  with  stonework  are  usually  round.  In 
this  country,  wood  is  universally  used  for  this  purpose, 
timber  being  usually  cheap  and  abundant  in  our  mining  dis- 
tricts. In  the  Lake  Superior  region,  the  shafts  only  require 
to  be  supported  for  a  few  feet,  or  until  solid  rock  is  reached. 
The  timbers  are  squared  roughly,  and  laid  upon  each  other, 
forming  a  substantial  framework,  which  rests  in  a  bed-place 
cut  in  the  rock  where  it  is  sufficiently  solid  to  obviate  any 
danger  of  its  giving  way. 

For  a  distance  of  fifty  feet,  or  even  one  hundred,  if  desi- 
rable, the  ore  and  rubbish  may  be  raised  to  the  surface  by 
the  simple  windlass,  worked  by  hand,  on  which  a  rope  is 
so  wound  that  one  bucket  or  kibble  descends  while  the 
other  ascends.  The  same  means  are  used  in  sinking  a  winze, 
or  excavation  from  one  level  to  another,  not  extended  up  to 
the  open  day.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  depth  of  the  shaft 
becomes  more  considerable,  it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  horse 
or  steam-power  for  raising  the  ore.  The  common  machine 
used  for  this  purpose  is  called  a  whim ;  as  usually  constructed 
when  worked  by  horse-power,  it  is  represented  in  the  an- 
nexed cut  (Fig.  14).  In  the  steam-whim,  which  is  generally 
used  when  the  shaft  has  a  depth  of  more  than  two  hundred 
feet,  the  cage  or  drum  on  which  the  rope  or  chain  is  wound 
is  usually  placed  horizontally,  instead  of  vertically  as  in  the 
common  horse-whim.  Frequently,  in  opening  a  mine,  before 
the  excavations  have  reached  any  considerable  depth,  the 
pump-rod  is  attached  to  the  whim,  and  worked  by  the  same 
power  which  raises  the  ore. 

The  steam-engine  is  not  usually  applied  to  working  a 


74 


NUMBER    OF    SHAFTS. 


mine,  until  there  is  good  reason  to  suppose  that  it  may  be- 
come of  permanent  importance.  For  hoisting  ores,  no  very 
great  power  being  required,  small  horizontal  high-pressure 


Pis.  14. 


Horse-whim. 


engines,  working  full  steam,  are  usually  employed.  The 
machinery  must  admit  of  instantaneous  reversal,  and  should 
be  as  simple  as  possible.  Water-power,  if  at  hand,  can  be 
advantageously  applied  to  the  same  purpose.  The  pumping- 
engines  in  extensive  mines  are  usually  low-pressure  ones, 
and  every  effort  has  been  made  in  Cornwall  and  other  mining 
regions  to  reduce  the  consumption  of  fuel  to  the  smallest 
possible  amount,  by  perfecting  the  form  of  the  boiler  and 
machinery. 

Most  mines,  when  worked  to  any  considerable  extent, 
have  several  shafts ;  two,  at  least,  are  almost  necessary  for 
ventilation.  The  distances  from  each  other  at  which  they 
are  located  depend  on  a  variety  of  circumstances,  such  as 
the  nature  of  the  surface,  the  distribution  of  the  ore  in  the 
vein,  and  the  extent  of  the  sett  or  length  of  the  vein  which  can 
be  worked.  Two  shafts  should  not  be  too  near  each  other, 
if  it  can  be  avoided,  as  in  that  case  the  blocks  of  ground 
would  be  too  short,  causing  a  wasteful  expenditure  in  open- 
ing the  ground.  If  far  apart,  winzes  must  be  sunk  between 
them,  in  order  to  afford  ventilation  and  the  means  of  attack- 
ing the  vein  at  a  sufficient  number  of  points.  In  general, 
three  hundred  feet  distance  between  two  shafts,  in  a  vein  of 
moderate  width  and  richness,  may  be  considered  reasonable. 

After  the  shaft  has  been  sunk  to  a  proper  depth,  if  on  the 
vein,  drifts  or  levels  are  commenced  from  it  in  each  direc- 


MODES    OF    STOPING. 


75 


tion,  so  as  to  open  blocks  of  ground,  as  they  are  called,  or 
portions  of  the  vein,  which  are  thus  rendered  accessible  so 
that  their  contents  can  be  removed.  The  Cornish  miners 
usually  arrange  the  drifts  so  as  to  leave  between  them  a 
back  of  sixty  feet  or  ten  fathoms  ;  that  is,  one  level  having 
been  started,  the  shaft  is  continued  sixty-six  feet  (six  feet 
being  allowed  for  the  height  of  the  drift),  and  then  another 
level  is  commenced,  leaving  a  portion  of  the  vein  between 
them  sixty  feet  in  height.  Like  the  shafts,  the  levels  may 
be  driven  in  the  vein  itself,  or  by  the  side  of  it,  according  to 
its  width,  texture,  and  other  circumstances. 

The  contents  of  a  block  of  ground  thus  prepared  are  re- 
moved by  wrhat  is  called  stoping,  or  working  in  steps ;  the 
object  of  which  is  to  take  out  all  that  portion  of  the  vein 


Method  of  overhand  sloping. 


which  is  worth  reserving  for  its  ore.  There  are  two  methods 
of  doing  this,  one  of  which  is  called  overhand  and  the  other 
underhand  stoping,  the  difference  being,  that  by  the  former 
method  the  vein  is  taken  down  by  working  from  below  up- 
wards, in  the  other  by  excavations  from  above  downwards. 


76  TIM  BERING    OF    MINES. 

Overhand  sloping  is  almost  universally  practised  in  this 
country.  The  annexed  section  (Fig.  15)  will  illustrate  this 
method.  It  represents  a  supposed  longitudinal  section,  on 
the  vein,  of  a  shaft  and  two  levels,  between  which  stoping  is 
going  on.  The  rubbish  which  is  necessarily  blasted  down 
with  the  valuable  part  of  the  vein,  is  piled  up  back  of  the 
miner,  as  his  work  proceeds,  on  a  scaffolding  of  stout  timbers, 
called  stulls.  At  suitable  distances,  openings  are  left  through 
the  rubbish  (one  of  which  is  indicated  in  the  figure  by  the 
letter  m)  called  mills  or  passes,  through  which  the  ore  is  shot 
down  to  the  level  below,  to  be  loaded  on  to  a  wheelbarrow 
or  car,  and  conveyed  to  the  mouth  of  the  drift,  or  to  the 
shaft,  to  be  hoisted  to  the  surface.  The  rubbish  accumu- 
lated in  the  space  from  which  the  vein  has  been  removed 
serves  to  support  the  walls  and  keep  them  from  coming  to- 
gether. The  annexed  cut  (Fig.  16)  shows,  in  a  transverse 
section,  the  method  of  supporting  the  rubbish  and  the  floor 

of  the  level  beneath.  The  work- 
man, while  engaged  at  stoping, 
stands  on  a  platform  laid  on 
stulls,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  15 
above.  Stoping  upwards  is  the 
most  rapid  and  economical  me- 
thod, when  the  ores  are  not  very 
valuable,  or  difficult  to  distin- 
guish from  the  rubbish.  Of 

O 

course,  in  working  from  below 
upwards,  the  looseness  and  work- 
ing away  of  the  rock  is  aided  by 
gravity,  the  fragments  tending 

Timbering  in  a  mine.  J '  o  & 

downwards  by  their  own  weight, 

and  it  is  therefore  easier  for  the  miner ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  the  rock  and  ore  are  thrown  together  by  each  blast 
upon  the  pile  of  rubbish  below,  it  requires  care,  on  the  part 
of  the  miner,  to  select  out  the  valuable  portion  of  the  lode 
without  sending  up  too  much  of  the  worthless  rock,  which, 
apart  from  the  cost  of  hoisting  it  to  the  surface,  is  needed  to 
fill  up  the  space  left  by  the  previous  excavations,  in  order  to 
help  to  support  the  walls. 


TIMBERING    OF    MINES. 


77 


The  proper  timbering  of  mines  is  a  matter  of  great  impor- 
tance in  their  management,  and  is  often  an  item  of  con- 
siderable expense.  The  amount  of  wood  consumed  in  the 
necessary  operations  about  a  mine  is  very  large,  and  care 
should  always  be  taken  to  secure  a  good  supply  of  this  in- 
dispensable material.  In  some  mining  regions,  where  it  is 
scarce,  its  cost  becomes  one  of  the  most  considerable  items 
of  expense  to  be  incurred,  as  for  instance  in  the  Australian 
copper  mines.  Cornwall  is  mostly  supplied  from  Norway ; 
and  the  timber  cut  from  hundreds  of  square  miles  of  Nor- 
wegian forests  is  now  buried  deep  beneath  the  surface,  in 
the  Cornish  mines.  In  Germany,  large  tracts  of  forest  are 
set  apart  for  /the  use  of  the  great  mining  districts ;  and  the 
wood  is  cut  from  a  certain  portion  every  year,  so  that  a  con- 
stant supply  is  kept  up. 

Fig.  17. 


Timbering  in  a  level  in  a  yielding 
rock. 


Timbering  in  a  level  with  solid  rock 
on  one  side. 


The  above  figures  (Figs.  17  and  18)  show  two  modes  of 
timbering  in  levels,  and  will  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  such  work  is  executed.  In  Fig.  17,  the 
rock  being  soft  and  liable  to  inward  crushing,  the  side- 
timbers  require  to  be  kept  apart  by  pieces  laid  across  above 
and  below.  The  other  figure  represents  a  drift  of  which  one 
side  is  of  firm  rock,  while  the  other  requires  a  lining  of  plank 
behind  the  upright  timbers. 

Exploitation  of  Thick  Veins  and  Masses. — When  the  deposit 
of  ore  to  be  mined  is  in  masses  or  veins  of  extraordinary 


78  EXPLOITATION    OF    MASSES. 

width,  the  process  of  removing  their  contents  becomes  a  more 
difficult  one,  especially  if  the  surrounding  rocks  are  not 
firm  and  unyielding.  The  general  method,  however,  is  the 
same  :  the  work  must  be  subterranean  and  not  open  to  the 
day.  One  or  more  shafts  must  be  sunk  into  or  near  the  mass 
to  be  removed,  and  the  work  commenced  at  as  low  a  point  as 
possible.  Levels  are  then  driven  into  the  ore,  and  as  fast 
as  the  valuable  mineral  is  removed,  the  rubbish  which  is 
made  is  piled  up  in  its  place,  so  as  to  support  the  portion  left 
overhead.  If  there  is  not  enough  material  for  this,  stones 
must  be  sent  down  from  the  surface.  In  this  way  the  whole 
contents  of  a  mass  may  be  removed  without  loss.  The 
methods  pursued  in  such  workings  must  be  specially  adapted 
to  the  shape  of  the  deposit  of  ore,  the  degree  of  solidity  of 
it  and  of  the  adjoining  rock,  and  a  variety  of  other  circum- 
stances; the  general  principles,  however,  are  those  above 
indicated. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GOLD,  PLATINA,  AND  SILVER  (IN  PART). 

SECTION    I. 
MINERALOGICAL   OCCURRENCE  AND   GEOLOGICAL   POSITION   OF   GOLD. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — Gold  occurs,  in  nature,  in 
the  following  forms  : — 

Allays. 

Native  Gold. — An  alloy  of  gold  and  silver,  with  traces  of  iron,  copper,  and  other 
metals. 

Porpezite. — Gold  and  palladium.     (Ouro  poudre.) 
Rhodium  Gold. — Gold  and  rhodium. 

•Amalgam. 

Gold  Amalgam. — Gold  and  mercury,  with  a  little  silver. 

Ores. 

Graphic  Tellurium. — Telluride  of  silver  and  gold. 
Awotellurite. — Telluride  and  antimonide  of  gold,  silver,  and  lead. 

Of  the  above-named  substances,  the  first,  native  gold,  is 
that  form  of  combination  in  which  almost  the  whole  amount 
of  this  metal  obtained  in  the  world  is  found.  Of  the  others, 
graphic  tellurium  is  the  only  one  which  exists  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  be  of  economical  importance,  and  that  only  in 
one  district ;  the  others  are  exceedingly  rare  substances. 

Native  gold  is  invariably  found  alloyed  with  silver;  no 
analysis  has  ever  been  made  of  it  which  has  not  given  a 
small  amount  of  this  metal:  besides  the  silver,  there  are 
traces  of  other  metals,  among  which  iron  and  copper  are 
rarely  wanting,  although  generally  present  only  in  minute 
quantities.  The  following  table  will  exhibit  some  of  the 
analyses  of  native  gold  from  different  localities. 


80 


TABLE  OF  ANALYSES  OF  GOLD. 


Locality. 
RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 

Schabrowskoi  washings, 
Boruschkoi  washings, 
Beresowsk  mine,  in 

brown  hematite, 
Beresowsk,  in  quartz, 
Zarewo-Nicolajewsk, 

near  Miask,  washings, 
Alexander-Andrejewsk,  } 
nearMiask,  washings,  ) 
Petropawlowsk  wash- 
ings, 
Boruschkoi  washings, 


Analyst. 


Gold.    Silver.  Copper. 


Iron. 


Sp.  Gr. 


G.  Rose, 
G.  Rose, 

9896 
94-41 

•16 
523 

•35               -05             19099 
•30  with  iron  and  loss  18-440 

G.  Rose, 

9378 

5-94 

•08 

•04 

G.  Rose, 

91-88 

803 

•09 

trace 

G.  Rose, 

89-35 

10-65 

trace 

trace 

17484 

G.  Rose, 

87-40 

12-07 

•09 

trace 

17-402 

G.  Rose, 

80-81 

13-19 

trace 

trace 

10-809 

G.  Rose, 

83-85 

10  15 

trace 

trace 

17001 

r.  Rose, 


TRANSYLVANIA. 

V0r0spatak,in  porphyry 

with  quartz, 
Sta.  Barbara  mine,  at  Fu-  -j 

ses,  scales  in  porphyry  \-  G.  Rose, 

with  quartz,  J 


00-49  38-74     -77  with  iron 


84-89  14-08     -04 


•13 


AFRICA. 

Senegal,    .     , 


.  D'Areet. 


80-97   10-53 


AUSTRALIA. 


Bathurst,  .  .  .  . 
Locality  not  given, 
South  Australia,  . 


.  J.H.Henry,      95-09     392  '16 

.  A.  B.Northcote,  99-283    -437  -009  -203* 

.  A.S.Thomas,    87-78     0'07  6-15 


SOUTH   AMERICA. 

Antioquia,  New  Grana- ) 

Y  Bonssmgault,     64-93  35-07 
da,  washings,  J 

Brazil, D'Arcet,  94-00     5-85 

Marmato, Boussingault,     73'45  20-48 

CANADA   AND    UNITED    STATES. 

Ri  vie  re  duLoup,  Canada,  T.  S.  Hunt,        804013-00     trace 
Georgia, W.W.Mather,  95'579  4-421  trace 

North  Carolina,  Lewis  ) 
mine  I  F.  A.  Genth,     65-03  34'18 

American  Fork,  scales,  .  Rivot,  90-90     8-70 

Feather  River,  scales,     .  Rivot,  89-10  10-50 

Locality  not  given,      .     .  Henry,  90-01     9-01       -86 


trace 
trace 


0-20 
0-20 


14-149 


12-060 


15-701 


1490 

15-70 
1755 
1596 


•b  Bismuth, -008. 


MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    OF    GOLD.  81 

It  was  clearly  shown  by  GL  Rose  that  gold  and  silver  are 
not  combined  in  atomic  proportions  in  native  gold,  as  had 
been  suggested  by  Boussingault ;  but  that  the  two  metals 
occur  alloyed,  so  that  the  silver  forms  from  one-half  to  less 
than  one-hundredth  of  the  mass.  The  gold  of  California  is 
remarkably  constant  in  its  composition,  yielding  about  ninety 
per  cent,  of  the  pure  metal.  The  usual  range  of  fineness  is 
from  875  to  905  thousandths;  the  average  is  885  to  890.* 
That  of  Australia  is  very  pure,  as  shown  by  the  analyses 
above. 

Gold  and  platina  form  an  exception  in  their  mode  of  occur- 
rence to  all  the  other  metals  in  common  use.  Silver,  tin, 
copper,  lead,  zinc,  andiron  are  obtained  almost  exclusively 
in  the  form  of  ores,  that  is,  in  combination  with  a  mineralizer, 
of  which  the  most  common  one  is  sulphur;  while  gold  is 
found,  all  over  the  world,  in  the  native  state,  alloyed  with 
silver ;  its  combination  with  tellurium,  an  exceedingly  rare 
substance,  being  confined  to  one  or  two  localities.  Silver  is 
not  unfrequently  found  in  the  native  state,  though  much  the 
larger  portion  of  the  produce  of  this  metal  is  obtained  from 
the  sulphuret.  Native  copper  has  never  been  very  rare,  but 
had  furnished  no  noticeable  part  of  the  copper  of  commerce, 
prior  to  the  discovery  of  the  Lake  Superior  mines.  Lead, 
zinc,  tin,  and  iron  are  found  only  in  a  mineralized  state,  with 
the  exception  of  the  masses  of  meteoric  iron,  alloyed  with 
nickel,  which  have  an  extra-terrestrial  origin.  Though  there 
is  a  great  variety  of  ores  of  lead,  yet  almost  the  whole  of  the 
lead  of  commerce  is  produced  from  the  combination  of  that 
metal  with  sulphur.  The  sulphuret  of  zinc  is  of  almost  uni- 
versal occurrence,  but  it  is  not  worked  to  any  considerable 
extent ;  the  combinations  of  the  oxide  of  this  metal  with  car- 
bonic acid,  and  with  silica,  being  its  chief  ores.  The  prin- 
cipal ore  of  tin,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  oxide.  Iron  occurs 
in  abundance  in  combination  with  sulphur ;  but  in  this  form 
it  has  but  little  value.  The  oxides,  the  magnetic  and  specu- 
lar, together  with  the  combination  of  the  protoxide  with 
carbonic  acid,  form  the  great  bulk  of  the  workable  ores. 

*  Eckfeldt  and  Dubois,  Manual  of  Coins,  p.  234. 


82  GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    GOLD. 

Gold  and  iron  are  almost  as  intimately  associated  as  gold 
and  silver.  There  is  hardly  a  specimen  of  sulphuret  of  iron 
(iron  pyrites)  in  which  a  minute  trace  of  gold  might  not  be 
detected  by  sufficiently  delicate  manipulation.  "When  the 
iron  pyrites  has  undergone  decomposition  and  become  con- 
verted into  a  hydrated  oxide,  the  gold  may  often  be  sepa- 
rated with  advantage,  and  the  auriferous  quartz  of  most  of 
the  gold  workings  in  the  solid  rock  is  associated  with  iron 
ores.  When  gold  is  contained  in  iron  or  copper  pyrites 
which  remains  undecomposed,  there  is  a  considerable  loss  in 
the  process  of  amalgamation,  which  has  hitherto  prevented 
its  profitable  separation  ;  but  several  attempts  have  been 
recently  made  to  contrive  machinery  for  effecting  this  econo- 
mically, although  it  does  not  seem,  as  yet,  to  be  determined 
whether  any  one  of  them  is  likely  to  be  successful. 

The  varieties  of  form  of  this  metal  as  it  occurs  in  nature  are 
not  very  great.  It  is  most  usually  found  in  fine  particles, 
and  scales  or  flattened  grains.  Sometimes,  however,  it  ex- 
hibits a  crystalline  form,  usually  that  of  the  octohedron,  but 
the  crystals  rarely  attain  any  considerable  size.  The  finest 
have  been  obtained  in  California.  The  lumps  of  larger  size, 
which  are  not  frequent,  are  called  "  nuggets"  (French,  pepites). 
They  rarely  exceed  a  few  pounds  in  weight,  and  are  usually 
accompanied  by  more  or  less  of  the  quartzose  gangue  in 
which  they  were  originally  embedded.  The  largest  of  them 
ever  found  is  said  to  be  the  great  Australian  nugget,  which 
weighed  1615  ounces  before  melting,  and  yielded  1319  ounces 
of  fine  gold.  The  finest  pure  mass  now  in  existence  is  that 
preserved  in  the  Eussian  School  of  Mines,  which  weighs 
over  97  pounds  troy. 

Geological  Position  and  Mode  of  Occurrence  of  Grold. — In 
general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  older  the  geological  forma- 
tion, the  greater  the  probability  of  its  containing  valuable 
ores  and  metals.  On  examining  the  table  of  geological  for- 
mations, it  will  be  seen  that  gold  is  confined  entirely  to  the 
two  lowest  groups,  the  azoic  and  the  palaeozoic.  Unfortu- 
nately, it  is  not  possible  in  all  cases  to  distinguish  between 
these  two  groups,  since  -in  localities  where  the  formation  is 
metalliferous,  the  rocks,  if  of  palaeozoic  age,  have  in  all 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    GOLD.  83 

cases  been  so  changed  from  their  original  character,  that 
their  place  in  the  geological  series  is  with  difficulty  to  be  re- 
cognized. For  this  reason,  the  azoic  and  the  lower  paleo- 
zoic rocks  have  been  generally  confounded  together  under 
the  names  of  primary,  primitive,  primary  fossiliferous,  Cam- 
brian, Cumbrian,  and  the  like.  In  but  few  countries  is  the 
distinction  so  clearly  marked  that  it  could  not  be  overlooked 
by  a  careful  observer,  as,  for  instance,  in  Sweden  or  on  Lake 
Superior.*  In  the  latter  region,  the  strata  of  the  Potsdam 
sandstone,  the  lowest  fossiliferous  rock  thus  far  known  to 
exist,  are  found  resting,  nearly  in  their  original  position  and 
unchanged  in  character,  on  the  upturned  edges  of  a  series  of 
slaty  and  quartzose  rocks,  which  were  once  deposited  from 
water,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  ripple-marks  still  preserved  on 
the  faces  of  the  quartzose  strata. 

The  general  facts  in  regard  to  the  mineralogical  character 
of  the  gold-bearing  rocks,  are  very  nearly  the  same  the  world 
over ;  whatever  were  their  original  structure  or  composition, 
they  have,  by  the  agency  of  a  long  chain  of  similar  geological 
events,  been  brought  to  exhibit  a  striking  resemblance  to 
each  other.  They  consist  most  frequently  of  slaty  rocks, 
more  generally  talcose,  although  occasionally  chloritic  and 
argillaceous.  It  is  in  these  rocks  that  the  gold-bearing 
quartz,  which  forms,  almost  invariably,  the  gangue  or  ac- 
companying mineral  of  this  metal,  is  found  to  be  most  pro- 
ductive. Those  veins  which  occur  in  the  hypogene,  or  erup- 
tive rocks,  are  rarely  of  much  value.  The  auriferous  quartz 
veins,  which  are  themselves  worked  for  gold  in  various  parts 
of  the  world,  and  in  which  that  obtained  from  washings 
originated,  seem  almost  invariably  to  belong  to  the  class  of 
"segregated  veins."  The  masses  of  quartz  rock  of  which 
they  are  composed  have  the  same  dip  and  strike  as  the 
slaty  rocks  in  which  they  are  enclosed,  and  they  exhibit  no 
appearance  of  occupying  a  pre-existing  fissure.  Their  width 
is  variable,  extending  from  a  mere  thread  up  to  a  hun- 
dred feet,  and  their  richness  in  gold  is  equally  uncertain. 
There  are  frequently,  however,  in  some  gold  districts,  small 

*  See  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Lake  Superior,  Part  II. 


84  GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    GOLD. 

veinlike  masses,  which  appear  to  traverse  the  strata,  and  to 
be  analogous  to  true  veins ;  but  they  seem,  generally,  to  be 
merely  subordinate  to  larger  segregated  deposits,  and  not  to 
fill  fissures  which  originated  in  any  fracturing  of  the  rocks 
by  a  deep-seated  cause.  The  characteristic  phenomena  of 
the  auriferous  quartz  veins  will  be  fully  illustrated  in  the 
discussion  of  the  most  important  gold  regions. 

When  the  palaeozoic  rocks  remain  in  nearly  the  same  con- 
dition in  which  they  were  originally  deposited,  as,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  there  is  but  little  pro- 
bability of  finding  gold,  although  there  seem  to  be  pretty 
well-authenticated  accounts  of  small  quantities  of  this  metal 
having  been  found  in  a  region  underlaid  by  unaltered  Silurian 
rocks,  and  far  from  any  metamorphic  action  ;  where,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  strata  have  been  invaded  by  igneous  masses, 
broken  up,  and  raised  upon  their  edges,  and  rendered  crys- 
talline in  their  structure,  there  is  good  reason  to  expect  its 
presence. 

There  is  room  for  doubt  whether  the  great  gold  deposits 
of  the  world  did  not  originate  exclusively  in  the  palaeozoic 
strata,  since  we  are  not  aware  that  the  rocks  which  have  been 
proved  to  be  of  azoic  age  have  been  found  to  be  auriferous. 
In  the  Ural  Mountains,  the  metamorphosed  strata  represent 
the  whole  palaeozoic  series,  from  the  lower  Silurian  up  to, 
and  including,  the  carboniferous.  The  Australian  rocks 
associated  with  auriferous  quartz,  contain  fossils  of  Silurian 
age,  while  the  flanks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  in  California  may 
probably  be  referred  to  the  palaeozoic  epoch,  though  farther 
evidence  is  needed  on  this  point.  In  regard  to  the  gold  of 
the  Appalachian  chain,  in  the  United  States,  the  question 
remains  yet  undetermined ;  but  the  evidence,  thus  far,  pre- 
ponderates in  favor  of  its  occurrence  in  the  metamorphic 
palaeozoic  strata.  Certainly  the  azoic  centres  of  "New  York, 
Lake  Superior,  and  Missouri,  have  given  at  most  only  doubt- 
ful indications  of  gold  as  yet,  while  the  metamorphic  rocks 
of  Vermont  and  Canada,  which  are  known  to  be  of  Silurian 
age,  have  furnished  this  metal  in  not  inconsiderable  quantity. 
In  the  southern  gold  region,  the  distinction  between  the  azoic 
and  palaeozoic  has  not  yet  been  attempted  to  be  drawn. 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    GOLD.  85 

As  the  undisturbed  and  unaltered  Silurian  rocks  exhibit, 
at  most,  only  traces  of  gold,  it  appears  that  this  metal  only 
becomes  evident  after  the  strata  have  been  metamorphosed, 
or  invaded  by  igneous  and  eruptive  rocks.  The  period  at 
which  the  segregation  of  the  auriferous  veins  took  place,  and 
that  of  their  impregnation  with  gold,  still  remain  open  ques- 
tions, even  after  the  age  of  the  formation  in  which  they  are 
included  has  been  determined.  In  general,  the  quartz  veins 
may  be  presumed  to  have  originated  at  the  time  of  the  meta- 
morphic  action  on  the  strata  themselves ;  and  where  there  are 
igneous  rocks  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  the  development  of 
the  metallic  contents -of  the  adjacent  veins  is  usually  ascribed 
to  their  presence,  since  it  is  so  often  found  that  the  metalli- 
ferous deposits  are  intimately  associated  with  eruptive  masses. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose,  however,  that  these  phenomena 
throughout  the  world  were  confined  to  any  particular  geolo- 
gical epoch ;  on  the  contrary,  there  may  have  been  a  repeti- 
tion of  similar  conditions  at  periods  of  time  very  distant  from 
each  other. 

Murchison  has  shown  that  the  impregnation  of  the  rocks 
of  the  Ural  with  gold  took  place  at  a  very  recent  geological 
period,  as  late  even  as  the  drift-epoch :  this  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  facts  developed  by  this  distinguished  geologist  in  his 
great  work  on  Russia.  In  other  important  gold  regions  we 
have  not  sufficient  data  for  fixing  with  much  definiteness  the 
time  of  the  concentration  of  the  metal  into  veins.  In  the 
Southern  United  States,  it  appears  that  no  very  great  change 
in  the  character  of  the  strata  has  taken  place  since  the  epoch 
of  the  new  red  sandstone ;  and  the  date  of  the  gold-bearing 
veins  may  with  probability  be  assigned  to  a  period  between 
that  formation  and  the  carboniferous.  In  Australia,  the  ele- 
vation of  the  auriferous  strata  and  their  probable  impregna- 
tion with  gold  seem  to  have  been  later  than  the  epoch  of  the 
coal.  In  regard  to  the  age  of  the  quartz  veins  of  California, 
but  little  positive  information  can  be  given.  Analogy  and 
all  the  facts  thus  far  obtained,  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the 
auriferous  masses  are  included  in  slates  of  palaeozoic  age, 
highly  metamorphosed ;  but  of  the  period  of  the  igneous 
action  which  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  the  cause  of  their 


86        ORIGIN  OF  AURIFEROUS  DETRITUS. 

impregnation  with  gold,  we  know  but  little.  In  the  Cordil- 
leras of  South  America,  the  period  of  metalliferous  emana- 
tions seems  to  have  been  after  the  deposition  of  the  cretaceous 
strata ;  and  disturbances  of  the  rocks,  which  may  have  been 
attended  with  phenomena  of  this  character,  have  evidently 
continued  down  to  a  very  recent  geological  period,  as  well 
here  as  in  California. 

It  is  not,  however,  from  workings  in  the  solid  rock  that 
the  principal  portion  of  the  gold  of  commerce  is  derived. 
Probably  nine-tenths  of  it,  at  least,  are  obtained  from  gold- 
ivashings,  or  the  separation  of  the  metal  from  the  superficial 
detritus  which  lies  upon  the  rock  in  place,  and  which  is  in- 
cluded by  geologists  among  the  drift  and  alluvial  deposits. 
Nature  has  performed  the  washing  and  concentrating  pro- 
cesses herself  on  a  large  scale,  and  accumulated  the  precious 
metal  in  a  position  from  which  it  can  be  obtained  with  faci- 
lity, without  any  considerable  outlay  of  skill  or  capital.  It 
is  this  circumstance  which  causes  such  extraordinary  fluc- 
tuations in  the  production  of  gold,  since  an  almost  unlimited 
quantity  of  unskilled  labor  can  be  at  once  applied  to  its  col- 
lection, while  the  same  amount  of  metal,  were  it  remaining 
in  its  original  position,  could  only  be  acquired  by  the  applica- 
tion of  a  vast  amount  of  capital.  Indeed,  the  experience  of 
the  past  has  shown  very  clearly,  that  had  not  nature  effected 
this  concentration,  the  larger  portion  of  the  auriferous  veins 
could  not  be  worked,  since  the  metal  is  too  much  scattered 
through  them  to  be  separated  with  profit. 

The  separation  of  the  gold  from  its  original  matrix  and  its 
deposition  among  the  strata  of  gravel,  sand,  and  clay,  or 
beneath  them  upon  the  surface  of  the  rock,  has  been  the  re- 
sult of  causes  acting  through  an  immense  period  of  time ;  and 
which  have  not  yet  ceased  to  operate,  although  their  energy 
seems  no  longer  equal  to  what  it  must  have  been  at  a  former 
epoch.  The  rocky  strata  of  the  earth  are  constantly  under- 
going abrasion  from  the  combined  action  of  various  meteoro- 
logical causes ;  of  which  one  of  the  most  powerful  at  present 
is  the  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  of  water  in  fissures 
and  cavities,  which  tends  to  wear  away  and  disintegrate  the 
most  elevated  portions,  especially  of  the  slaty  beds,  and  to 


ORIGIN  OF  AURIFEROUS  DETRITUS.        87 

carry  down  the  abraded  and.  loosened  materials,  and  spread 
them  out  in  the  adjacent  valleys.  In  lofty  and  rugged  moun- 
tain chains,  where  torrents  of  rain  frequently  fall,  and  the 
streams,  suddenly  swollen  to  a  great  volume,  rush  with  tre- 
mendous violence  down  rapidly  declining  valleys,  their  force 
becomes  capable  of  wearing  away  the  rocks  with  great  rapi- 
dity. This  mechanical  action  is  frequently  aided  by  a  che- 
mical one ;  the  strata  undergoing  a  molecular  change  which 
softens  them  and  renders  their  abrasion  easy.  As  the  en- 
closing rocks  are  thus  worn  away,  the  quartz-veins  become 
disaggregated  by  the  oxidation  of  the  iron  they  contain,  and 
are  themselves  crushed  into  fragments  and  borne  down  into 
the  valleys,  where  the  metallic  particles,  having  by  far  the 
highest  specific  gravity,  are  first  deposited  and  sink  to  the 
bottom,  while  the  lighter  earthy  portions  are  carried  farther. 
The  exact  identity  in  origin  of  the  auriferous  gravel 
and  sand  of  various  gold  regions  and  the  modern  alluvial 
formations  is  not  admitted  by  all  geologists.  Murchison, 
especially,  insists  strongly  that  the  superficial  deposits  which 
contain  gold  are  in  no  way  to  be  confounded  with  detritus 
formed  by  present  atmospheric  action,  but  rather  that  they 
were  the  result  of  diluvial  currents  connected  with  and  ori- 
ginating in  physical  changes  in  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
such  as  the  elevation  of  mountain  chains.  A  source  as  vast 
as  this  seems  to  be  required  to  account  for  the  accumulated 
masses  of  loose  material  which  are  scattered  over  the  Siberian 
plains,  or  at  the  base  of  the  Cordilleras ;  and  it  seems  reason- 
able to  admit  that  the  elevation  of  the  Ural  and  the  Andes 
may  have  been  connected  with  the  deposition  of  the  auri- 
ferous deposits  which  lie  upon  their  flanks.  But  until  geo- 
logists shall  have  more  satisfactorily  settled  the  relations 
between  the  drift  and  alluvium,  and  the  transition  from  one 
to  the  other,  and  until  a  much  more  thorough  exploration 
shall  have  been  made  of  some  of  the  greatest  gold-producing 
districts,  it  will  be  a  hazardous  matter  to  enter  into  any  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject.  It  is  most  probable  that  the  causes 
by  which  the  auriferous  detritus  was  accumulated  must  have 
been  similar  in  quality,  if  not  in  quantity,  to  those  now  in 
action  ;  and  when  we  take  into  account  the  immense  period 


88  GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    OF    GOLD. 

through  which  they  must  have  been  at  work,  perhaps  a  less 
degree  of  intensity  will  be  thought  necessary  to  account  for 
their  effects. 

It  will  be  indeed  an  interesting  fact,  if  it  should  be  proved 
that  the  largest  amount  of  gold  is  to  be  obtained  in  regions 
where  the  rocks  have  been  most  recently  and  extensively  in- 
vaded and  uplifted  by  igneous  masses ;  and  it  might  furnish 
a  clue,  among  other  things,  to  the  fact  of  the  vastly  greater 
accumulation  of  gold  in  the  superficial  debris  of  California 
than  in  those  of  the  Southern  Atlantic  States,  although  the 
richness  of  the  auriferous  veins  in  place  does  not  seem  to  be 
much,  if  any,  greater  in  one  region  than  in  the  other. 


SECTION  II. 

GENERAL    DESCRIPTION    OF    FOREIGN    GOLD   REGIONS. 

HAVING  prefaced  by  some  general  remarks  on  the  occur- 
rence of  gold,  we  proceed  to  illustrate  the  subject  more  fully 
before  entering  upon  the  gold-regions  of  the  United  States, 
by  giving  a  condensed  account  of  some  of  the  principal  auri- 
ferous districts  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  geographical 
order  which  will  be  followed  in  this,  as  in  the  succeeding 
chapters,  will  be :  to  commence  with  Northern  Europe,  in- 
cluding the  northern  part  of  Asia  embraced  in  the  Russian 
Empire ;  Scandinavia  ;  England  ;  Central  Europe  ;  France  ; 
Spain ;  Southern  Europe  ;  Northern  Africa ;  Central  Africa ; 
Central  Asia ;  Southern  Asia,  and  the  East  India  Islands  ; 
Australia ;  South  America ;  Central  America,  and  Mexico ; 
Canada,  and  the  United  States  from  the  northeast  towards 
the  southwest. 

GOLD  REGION  OF  THE  URAL  AND  SIBERIA. — The  gold  of  the 
Russian  Empire  is  obtained  almost  entirely  from  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Ural  Mountains,  from  Siberia,  and  in  the  Cau- 
casus.* In  Russia  in  Europe  a  very  small  quantity  only  is 
obtained,  from  the  western  slope  of  the  Ural.  A  small 
amount  of  this  metal  was  formerly  obtained  in  the  govern- 
ment of  Archangel,  but  this  locality  has  been  abandoned 

*  Consult  TSCHEWKIN  in  Russian  Journal  des  Mines;  and  G.Rose,  "Reise  nach 
dem  Ural.'' 


GOLD    IN    THE    RUSSIAN    EMPIRE.  89 

since  the  commencement  of  the  present  century.  In  Asiatic 
Russia,  the  auriferous  districts  are  principally  included  in 
the  governments  of  Perm,  Oremburg,  Tomsk,  Yenisseisk, 
Irkoutsk,  and  the  district  of  the  Kirghese.  The  first  dis- 
covery of  gold  was  made  near  Ekatherinenburg,  in  1743 ;  the 
first  workings  were  in  the  solid  rock,  and  were  commenced 
in  1752,  at  the  mines  of  Beresow,  which  are  still  productive, 
though  in  a  very  diminished  degree ;  their  yield,  in  1850, 
being  less  than  100  pounds.  In  1823,  there  were  sixty-six 
localities  in  the  Ural  where  gold  had  been  mined  from  the 
solid  rock ;  but  they  had,  with  the  exception  of  eight,  all 
been  abandoned.  The  veins  are  numerous  at  the  Beresow 
mines ;  they  are  contained  in  granite,  which  itself  forms 
veins  in  the  talcose,  chloritic,  and  micaceous  slates.*  The 
productive  ones  are  of  quartz,  and  they  cut  the  granitic 
masses  at  right  angles,  having  a  nearly  vertical  dip.  They 
do  not  generally  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  the  granite. 
The  working  seems  to  have  demonstrated  that  the  amount 

o 

of  metal  decreases  in  depth.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century,  the  Beresow  mines  yielded  from  600  to  800 
pounds  of  gold  annually ;  and  the  stamped  ore  yielded  from 
five  to  eight  zolotniks  of  fine  gold  to  the  hundred  poods ; 
equal  to  -0013  to  -00208  per  cent. 

The  proper  gold  washings  of  the  Ural,  which  have  pro- 
duced such  large  amounts  of  this  metal,  and  which  had 
acquired  such  a  high  celebrity  before  they  were  eclipsed  by 
those  of  California  and  Australia,  were  commenced  by  the 
crown  in  1814.  Those  of  Western  Siberia  were  established  in 
1829 ;  of  Eastern  Siberia  in  1838.  The  following  table  shows 
the  produce  of  these  washings  from  the  commencement.! 

Ibs.  troy. 

1814  to  1820,  product  of  the  crown  washings,    .         .  1,085 

1820  to  1830,  crown  and  private,             "            .         .  73,200 

1830  to  1840,       «         "         "                   "  175,400 

1S40  to  1850,       "         "         "                   "            •  553,955 
And  of  gold  obtained  from  mining  in  the  rock,  from 

1752  to  1850, 128,570 

Total,  .         .     932,270 


*  G.  Rose,  "  Reise  nach  dem  Ural,"  i.  175. 

t  Tschewkin,  Jour,  des  Mines,  quoted  in  Ann.  des  Mines,  (5)  iii.  805. 


90  GOLD    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Since  1847,  when  the  produce  of  the  Russian  mines  seems 
to  have  reached  its  maximum,  there  has  been  a  decided 
diminution  ;  few  new  localities  have  been  discovered,  and  in 
the  Siberian  washings  the  yield  of  the  sand  is  lessening,  and 
also  the  amount  of  gold  obtained ;  in  the  Ural,  on  the  other 
hand,  owing  to  the  perfection  of  the  apparatus  employed,  and 
the  skill  with  which  the  works  are  conducted,  the  produce 
of  gold  is  increasing,  although  the  tenor  of  the  sands  has 
diminished  to  J  zol.  per  hundred  poods,  equal  to  '00006  per 
cent.  It  may  be  safely  inferred  that  the  Russian  produce  of 
gold  has  reached  its  maximum,  and  that  it  will  continue 
slowly  to  decline. 

The  washing  machinery  of  the  Ural  mines  is  remarkably 
efficacious,  much  time  and  money  having  been  expended  on 
its  perfection ;  were  it  not  such  it  would  be  impossible  to 
wash  the  auriferous  sands  with  profit,  since  their  tenor  in 
gold  is  very  low,  the  average  not  being  more  than  from  4  to 
6  parts  in  a  million,  equal  to  about  3J  grains  per  bushel  of 
100  Ibs.  av. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. — The  number  of  localities  in  England 
where  gold  has  been  found  is  very  considerable,  but  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  occurs  in  large  quantities. 
In  South  Wales  the  Romans  mined  extensively  in  the  Silu- 
rian rocks,  with  but  little  return  of  metal.  In  Dumfriesshire, 
in  the  Lead  Hills,  several  hundred  men  were  employed  in 
washing  gold  sands  during  the  reign  of  James  Y.  The 
occurrence  of  this  metal  in  the  tin  stream-works  of  Cornwall 
and  Devon  has  been  observed  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  a 
few  ounces  are  still  obtained  yearly  by  the  miners,*  which 
are  mostly  preserved  as  a  mineralogical  curiosity.  Borlase 
mentions  a  piece  weighing  15  dwts.  3  grs. 

The  Wicklow  Mountains,  in  Ireland,  are  made  up  of  rocks 
which  might,  from  their  geological  nature,  be  presumed  to 
contain  gold ;  and,  in  fact,  this  metal  has  been  obtained 
there  in  small  quantity;  one  piece  weighed  twenty-two 
ounces,  and  quite  an  excitement  was  raised  on  the  subject. f 

*  De  la  Beche,  "  Survey  of  Cornwall,"  p.  614. 
t  E.  Hopkins,  in  Mg.  Almanac  for  1849,  p.  195. 


MODERN    AMALGAMATING    MACHINERY.  91 

A  large  capital  was  wasted  here  in  an  endeavor  to  find  the 
lodes  in  which  the  precious  metal  originated. 

The  yield  of  gold  of  Great  Britain  amounted  to  ahout  four 
ounces  per  annum,  for  the  few  years  previous  to  1853.  Ke- 
cently,  quite  an  excitement  has  been  raised  with  regard  to 
this  metal,  and  the  most  extraordinary  stories  are  told  of  vast 
treasures  hidden  in  the  gossans  of  the  Cornish  mines.  This 
excitement  may  be  traced,  in  considerable  degree,  to  the 
appearance  of  a  work  on  "  The  Gold  Rocks  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,"  by  John  Calvert,  in  which  some  astounding 
stories  are  told  with  regard  to  the  former  productiveness  of 
England  and  Scotland  in  this  metal.  For  some  time  past, 
the  papers  have  been  filled  with  accounts  of  the  large  yield 
of  gold  obtained  in  crushing  and  amalgamating  various 
Cornish  and  other  gossans,  which  are  said  to  be  the  ores 
richest  in  this  metal,  by  the  aid  of  Berdan's  machine.  This 
is  one  of  the  numerous  inventions  recently  introduced  for 
pulverizing  and  amalgamating,  at  the  same  time,  auriferous 
rocks.  As  it  has  been  but  a  short  time  in  operation,  and  as 
it  appears  thus  far  to  have  been  but  little  used  except  for 
experiments  on  a  small  scale,  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  its 
ultimate  value  may  prove  to  be ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the 
results  obtained  by  it  in  England  have  created  much  excite- 
ment. Many  of  the  samples  of  quartz  and  gossan  tried  by 
its  aid,  have  yielded  several  ounces  of  gold  per  ton,  and  some 
even  as  high  as  ten  to  sixteen  ounces.  It  has  heretofore 
been  the  opinion  of  those  best  informed  on  these  subjects, 
that  grinding  and  amalgamating  simultaneously  is  not  an 
economical  method,  the  Cornish  stamps  having  always  proved 
more  satisfactory  in  their  operation  than  any  machine  con- 
trived on  this  principle ;  and  it  will  require  considerable 
evidence,  based  on  actual  running,  to  convince  many  mining 
engineers  of  the  contrary.  At  the  St.  John  del  Key  mine, 
the  only  very  successful  gold  mine  wrought  in  the  solid  rock, 
where  a  rock  poor  in  gold  is  worked,  it  has  been  found  that 
nothing  answered  the  purpose,  and  proved,  in  the  long  run, 
so  economical  as  the  Cornish  stamps.  The  wear  and  tear  in 
machines  of  this  kind  being  enormous,  it  is  necessary,  before 
all  things,  that  they  should  be  capable  of  being  repaired,  or 


92  GOLD    IN    GERMANY. 

having  their  worn-out  parts  exchanged  for  others,  without 
much  delay  or  cost.  In  the  construction  of  the  latest  in- 
vented "gold-quartz  crushing  machines,"  it  seems  as  if  this 
circumstance  had  not  been  sufficiently  attended  to. 

If  these  machines  are  capable  of  separating  the  gold  with 
as  much  economy  as  they  profess,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  there  are  numerous  mines  in  England  which  furnish 
some  ore  which  will  pay  for  working;  but,  in  general,  the 
gossan,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  richest  gold  ore,  does 
not  continue  to  a  very  great  depth,  usually  not  more  than 
twenty  fathoms;  and  unless  the  lodes  are  very  wide,  the 
quantity  which  they  would  furnish  would  be  small  in  com- 
parison with  that  which  would  require  to  be  stamped  in 
order  to  furnish  a  large  supply  of  gold. 

Mr.  John  Taylor,  Jr.,  whose  experience  in  these  matters  is 
very  great,  remarks  on  this  point*  as  follows :  "  I  have  seen 
evidence  to  make  me  believe  that  British  gold  ores,  in  mode- 
rate quantities,  can  be  obtained,  and  that,  if  they  are  skil- 
fully treated,  they  can  be  made  to  yield  a  moderate  profit ; 
but,  beyond  this,  I  cannot  persuade  myself  that  producing 
gold  in  England  will  ever  be  a  large  or  very  lucrative  branch 
of  industry." 

GERMANY. — Austrian  Empire. — The  amount  of  gold  ob- 
tained in  Germany  is  very  small  indeed,  although  in  some 
places  mining  or  washing  has  been  pursued  almost  uninter- 
ruptedly since  the  days  of  the  Romans. 

Hungary,  Transylvania. — The  exploitation  of  the  mines  of 
gold,  silver,  lead,  and  copper,  of  Hungary  has  been  carried 
on  almost  uninterruptedly  since  the  eighth  century ;  and  the 
results  of  these  long-continued  labors  present  one  of  the  most 
interesting  fields  of  investigation  for  the  mining  engineer 
which  can  be  found  in  the  world.  At  Schemnitz,  Kremnitz, 
Neusohl,  and  Libethen,  in  Lower  Hungary,  the  visitor  may 
study  the  results  of  centuries  of  experience  in  the  slow  deve- 
lopment of  the  processes  for  the  treatment  of  auriferous  and 
argentiferous  ores. 

There  are  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  as  well  as  copper  and 

*  Eng.  Mining  Journal,  Dec.  1853. 


TYROL    AND    BOHEMIA.  93 

lead,  at  Nagybanya,  Kapnik,  and  Felsobanya,  on  the  western 
border  of  Transylvania,  in  which  the  ancient  works  are  on  a 
gigantic  scale;  and  there  are  also  gold  mines  at  Zalatlma. 
In  the  Lower  Hungarian  mines,  which  are  grouped  around 
the  towns  of  Schemnitz,  Kremnitz,  and  Neusohl,  the  ores 
are  chiefly  auro-argentiferous ;  galena  is  also  obtained  in 
sufficient  quantity  to  afford  the  necessary  lead  for  separating 
the  silver.  These  mines  are  much  less  productive  than 
formerly ;  but  works  are  in  progress,  on  a  gigantic  scale,  to 
open  them  at  a  great  depth.  The  quantity  of  the  precious 
metals  in  all  this  region  has,  however,  been  found  to  decrease 
as  the  veins  were  worked  downwards.  The  Trail  sylvanian 
mines  afford  those  interesting  combinations  of  gold  and 
tellurium  which  are  so  rare  and  curious.  The  present 
annual  produce  of  the  Hungarian  mines  is  about  3800 
marks  of  gold  =  2850  Ibs.  troy,  and  68,000  marks  of  silver 
=  57,000  Ibs.  troy.  These  mines  could  not  be  worked  ex- 
cept under  the  two  conditions  of  the  highest  development 
of  mining  and  metallurgic  skill,  and  a  low  price  of  labor. 

Tyrol  and  Salzburg. — A  very  small  quantity  of  gold  has 
been  obtained,  during  many  centuries,  from  these  districts, 
by  the  application  of  great  skill  and  labor  to  ores  of  the 
smallest  possible  richness.  The  whole  production  in  1847 
amounted  to  only  109  marks  =  78  Ibs.  troy. 

At  Zell  the  average  yield  of  the  stamp-work  was,  in  1845, 
only  from  11  to  12  loth  in  1000  centner,  equal  to  4  parts  in 
1,000,000.*  This  is  the  smallest  yield  of  any  gold  ore  known 
to  be  actually  mined.  The  production  amounted,  according 
to  the  last  official  accounts,  to  20  marks  only  per  annum. 

Bohemia. — At  a  very  early  historical  period,  the  mines  of 
Bohemia  were  extensively  wrought.  It  is  said  that  as  early 
as  734  the  gold  mine  of  Eula  was  so  productive  that  golden 
images  were  manufactured  from  its  produce.  From  the 
eleventh  to  the  fifteenth  century,  the  produce  of  the  Bohe- 
mian washings  helped  in  some  degree  to  furnish  a  circulating 
medium  to  Europe.  The  present  total  produce  of  gold  in 
Bohemia,  however,  does  not  much  exceed  $500  in  value  per 
annum. 

*  Russegger,  Der  Auf  bereitungs  Prozess  Gold  und  Silberhnltiger  Pocherze,  p.  3. 


94  GOLD    IN    FRANCE. 

The  different  provinces  of  the  Austrian  Empire  furnished 
each  the  proportional  amount  of  gold  specified  in  the  follow- 
ing table,  according  to  the  average  of  the  official  returns  of 
the  years  1840  to  1847  :— 

Transylvania,        .  .  .  .       53-3  per  cent. 

Hungary,         ....  45'G 

Salzburg,  .  .  .  .  .0-0 

Tyrol,  ....  0-25 

Styria,  Bohemia,  &c.,         .  .  .         0-25         " 


100-00 


The  total  production  of  the  empire  amounted,  in  1848,  the 
last  year  for  which  returns  have  been  published,  to  5645  Ibs., 
having  steadily,  although  slowly,  increased  from  2682  Ibs.  in 
1820.  Its  present  yield  may  be  estimated  at  6000  Ibs. 

FKANCE. — The  Rhine. — The  sands  of  the  Rhine  are  still 
washed,  on  a  small  scale ;  formerly,  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe,  the  production  was  very  considerable.  Historical 
documents  show  that,  in  667,  the  right  of  washing  the  sands 
of  the  bed  of  the  Rhine  was  considered  to  be  of  value.  The 
present  yield  (1846)  is  estimated  by  Daubre'e  at  45,000  francs. 
The  auriferous  portion  of  the  bed  of  the  river  is  included 
between  Basle  and  Mannheim,  but  the  washings  have  been 
especially  numerous  in  the  vicinity  of  Strasburg.*  The 
sands  recently  washed  yield  from  thirteen  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred-millionths ;  they  rarely  contain  more  than  seven  ten- 
millionths.  The  washer  makes,  on  an  average,  from  one 
and  a  half  to  two  francs  a  day,  and  sometimes  as  much  as 
ten  or  fifteen  francs.  Daubrde  considers  the  average  yield 
of  the  sands  of  the  Rhine,  Siberia,  and  Chili,  to  be  in  the 
proportion  of  1  :  10  :  37. 

There  are  several  localities  in  France  where  gold  has  been 
produced  in  small  quantity.  Diodorus  speaks  of  the  rich- 
ness of  the  Gallic  rivers  in  golden  sands,  but  nothing  at 
present  existing  would  lead  to  the  opinion  that  the  amount 
obtained  was  ever  very  great.  The  river  Ariege  derived  its 
name  from  its  yield  of  auriferous  sands  (aurigerd),  and  up  to 

*  Daubree,  Comptes  Remlus,  xxii.  G40. 


SPAIN.  95 

the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  produced  something  like 
a  hundred  pounds  of  the  metal  annually. 

The  only  quartz  vein  bearing  gold  known  to  exist  in 
France  is  that  of  La  Gardette,  in  the  department  of  the  Isere. 
It  is  from  one  to  three  feet  wide,  and  enclosed  in  gneiss. 
Native  gold  was  discovered  in  it  in  1700,  and  it  was  worked 
at  intervals  up  to  1841,  yielding  but  a  small  amount. 

Many  of  the  plombiferous  veins  contain  a  little  gold. 

SPAIN. — Although  the  amount  of  gold  at  present  obtained 
from  Spain  is  very  insignificant,  that  country  was  at  one 
time  highly  productive  in  this  metal.  Diodorus,  Strabo, 
Pliny,  and  other  ancient  writers,  allude  to  Spain  as  the  land 
of  golden  treasures.  Adrien  Paillette*  has  investigated  the 
subject  of  ancient  mining  in  the  Peninsula,  and  has  arrived 
at  the  conclusion,  that  gold  was  produced  in  large  quantity 
by  Spain  and  Portugal  at  the  most  remote  periods,  and  that 
this  metal  was  obtained  from  workings  in  the  solid  rock,  as 
well  as  from  washings  of  the  auriferous  sands  of  the  Douro 
and  Tagus.  So  far  as  the  working  of  the  mines  was  con- 
cerned, it  seems  that  1800  years  ago,. at  least,  a  system  of 
adits,  levels,  and  shafts  was  adopted.  In  the  time  of  Pliny, 
Gallicia  and  the  Asturias  furnished  20,000  pounds  of  gold 
per  annum,  and  we're  the  richest  gold-field  known.  Pliny 
not  only  speaks  of  the  shafts  and  levels,  but  describes  the 
mode  of  timbering  them  up,  the  preparation  for  opening  the 
ground,  and  the  system  employed  in  smelting  the  ore ;  and 
it  appears  evident,  that  in  those  remote  times  the  arts  of 
cupelling  and  amalgamating  were  fully  understood  and  prac- 
tised. It  is  interesting  to  learn  that,  even  in  the  time  of 
Diodorus,  these  processes  were  spoken  of  as  being  of  the 
most  ancient  origin,  an  opinion  corroborated  by  Pliny. 

It  appears  evident  from  Paillette's  investigations,  that  the 
auriferous  region  must  have  been  pretty  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted, for  in  all  their  examinations  of  the  old  workings, 
which  are  of  immense  extent,  even  by  carefully  washing  por- 
tions of  the  detritus,  they  only  obtained  a  few  traces  of  gold. 

The  present  production  of  gold  is  almost  nothing,  though 

*  Bull.  Soc.  Geol.  de  France,  (2)  ix.  482. 


96  GOLD    IN    ITALY  —  CENTRAL    ASIA. 

there  are  reports  of  the  recent  discovery  of  rich  gold  sands. 
The  washings  at  present  are  principally  confined  to  the  rivers 
Sil  and  Salor,  of  which  the  whole  produce  may  perhaps 
amount  in  value  to  $8,000  per  annum. 

ITALY. — Quite  a  number  of  localities  were  known  to  the 
ancients  as  producing  gold.  The  Po  is  still  one  of  the  gold- 
bearing  streams.  The  only  works  of  any  consequence  at  all 
are  in  Piedmont  and  Savoy.  In  the  Anzasca  Valley,  near 
Monte  Rosa,  an  auriferous  pyrites  was  worked  until  quite 
recently,  which  yielded  only  from  2  to  85  francs  per  cwt.  of 
ore,  or  8  dwts.  of  gold  to  the  ton.  The  amalgamation  works 
were  scattered  up  and  down  the  valleys  on  the  small  streams. 
The  whole  amount  produced  in  the  province  of  Ossola,  to 
which  these  works  belong,  was,  in  1829,  about  250  Ibs.  troy, 
with  a  profit  of  not  much  over  $15,000.  These  mines  were 
extensively  worked  in  the  time  of  Pliny ;  and,  according  to 
him,1  the  Senate  fixed  5,000  as  the  number  of  slaves  who 
were  to  be  allowed  to  work  in  them,  lest  the  price  of  the 
precious  metal  should  be  reduced. 

A  French  mining  company  was  also  recently  engaged  in 
working  a  gold  mine  in  serpentine,  near  Genoa,  on  the 
flanks  of  the  Col  Bochetta. 

CENTRAL  ASIA. — Golden  sands  had  frequently  been  dis- 
covered in  the  Caucasus ;  and,  in  1851,  the  Russian  govern- 
ment took  steps  to  establish  washings  there.*  In  that  year 
the  deposits  of  auriferous  sands  occurring  on  the  branches  of 
the  Koura,  which  originate  in  the  great  trans-Caucasian 
chain,  were  examined,  and  the  region  was  found  to  be  in  all 
respects  identical  in  character  with  the  gold-bearing  districts 
of  Siberia.  Evidence  was  obtained  that  these  sands  had 
been  worked  previous  to  the  Christian  era.  On  the  River 
Akstafa,  the  auriferous  bed  consists  of  rolled  pebbles  and 
boulders,  mixed  with  quartz,  brown  iron  ore,  and  clay,  the 
whole  covered  with  six  feet  of  unproductive  alluvium. 

Thibet  is  generally  supposed  to  be  rich  in  gold,  as  well  as 
other  metals.  The  rivers  of  the  western  portion  of  that 
country  are  especially  referred  to  as  abounding  in  auriferous 

*  Ann.  ties  Mines,  (5)  iii.  830. 


SOUTHERN     ASIA  —  JAPAN.  97 

sands.  Jacobs,  who  gives  the  only  estimate  of  the  amount 
produced  which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  fixes  it  at  10,000 
ounces. 

SOUTHERN  ASIA. — There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  portion 
of  the  Asiatic  continent  south  of  the  great  Himalayan  chain 
has,  in  former  times,  yielded  vast  amounts  of  gold.  The 
much  vexed  question  of  the  locality  of  Solomon's  Ophir  has 
not  been  definitely  settled ;  but  it  seems  not  improbable  that 
it  was  on  the  Malayan  peninsula  or  some  of  the  adjacent 
islands.  Bitter  places  it  in  Hindostan ;  by  others  it  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  somewhere  in  Thibet.  Gold  is  still 
obtained,  in  small  quantities,  at  many  localities  in  India ;  but 
it  appears  that  they  have  long  since  lost  the  productiveness 
which  history  leads  us  to  believe  they  must  once  have  had. 
What  metal  is  now  obtained  is  mostly  used  for  personal 
ornaments.  The  washings  of  the  Burrampooter  are  esti- 
mated to  yield  from  30,000  to  40,000  ounces  yearly,  by 
Jacobs  and  others.* 

In  the  Burman  Empire,  many  streams  have  gold-washings 
upon  them,  which  are  irregularly  worked  by  the  natives,  who 
are  represented  as  especially  fond  of  decorating  their  persons 
with  golden  ornaments ;  and,  their  own  produce  not  being 
sufficient,  they  are  said  to  import  an  additional  quantity  from 
China  for  that  purpose.  According  to  Jacobs,  no  reliable 
data  are  to  be  obtained  in  regard  to  the  amount  produced ; 
Mr.  Birkmyre,  however,  puts  that  of  Ava  at  about  2000 
pounds. 

Authentic  information  represents  the  Malayan  peninsula 
as  having  been  rich  in  gold,  but  the  amount  produced  at  the 
present  time  is  small.  The  character  of  the  inhabitants 
forbids  any  extended  researches  on  the  part  of  foreigners, 
although  such  have  been  attempted  recently  with  some  suc- 
cess.f 

CHINA  AND  JAPAN. — Of  the  mining  statistics  of  these  coun- 
tries we  have  little  or  no  exact  knowledge.  We  know,  however, 
even  after  making  allowance  for  exaggerations  of  travellers, 

*  Jacobs,  Historical  Inquiry  into  the  Production  and  Consumption  of  the  Precious 
Metals,  ii.  330. 

f  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  iii.  516. 


98  GOLD    IN    AFRICA. 

that  Japan  is  rich  in  gold  as  well  as  copper  and  other  metals. 
It  is  stated  that  the  Japanese  foresaw  the  gradual  impoverish- 
ment of  the  gold- washings,  and,  for  that  reason,  checked  the 
exportation  of  that  metal,  which  formerly  took  place  on  a 
large  scale.  At  present  none  of  it  enters  into  the  commerce 
of  the  world.  The  Siberian  gold-bearing  formations  extend 
into  China,  and  have  been  worked  to  some  extent ;  but,  ac- 
cording to  Murchison,  operations  were  suspended,  in  con- 
formity with  Chinese  politico-economical  theories,  in  order 
to  preserve  the  balance  of  circulation. 

The  East  India  Islands  furnish  gold  at  many  points,  and 
in  considerable  quantity;  but  the  statistical  information  of 
the  amount  produced  is  very  indefinite. 

Borneo  has  extensive  gold-washings,  which  are  principally 
on  the  western  coast.  The  auriferous  beds,  on  the  authority 
of  James  Brooke,  Rajah  of  Sarawak,*  consist  of  coarse  sand 
and  gravel  from  one  to  four  feet  thick,  overlying  a  bed  of 
clay  of  about  ten  feet  in  thickness.  A  large  quantity  of 
platina  is  also  obtained  in  washing  out  the  gold,  although  it 
is  only  quite  recently  that  its  value  has  become  known,  and 
that  it  has  been  preserved.  According  to  Mr.  Brooke,  there 
are  5,000  persons,  mostly  Chinese,  employed  on  the  western 
coast,  who  obtain  over  $5,000,000  of  gold  annually.  Mr. 
Jacobs,  however,  estimates  the  produce  at  only  one  half  of 
this. 

Sumatra,  Celebes,  Timor,  and  the  Philippine  Islands  are  all 
stated,  in  various  authorities,  to  furnish  considerable  amounts 
of  this  metal. 

The  whole  produce  of  Southern  Asia,  including  the  East 
India  Islands,  may  be  estimated  at  25,000  pounds,  making 
allowance  for  the  small  quantity  which  finds  its  way  out  of 
China.  Other  estimates  vary  from  10,000  to  30,000  pounds. 

AFRICA. — There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  continent  is  rich 
in  gold.  The  few  travellers  who  have  penetrated  into  the 
interior  have  all  coincided  in  their  accounts  of  golden  wealth. 
The  attempts  to  establish  European  mines  there  have  had  a 
most  disastrous  termination.  Kavelowski,  a  Russian  mining 

*  Narrative  of  Events  in  Borneo  and  Celebes,  &c.,  London,  1848. 


AUSTRALIA.  99 

engineer,  reported  the  existence  of  extensive  deposits  of  auri- 
ferous sands  on  the  river  Somat,  near  Kassan ;  but  neither  his 
attempts,  nor  those  of  the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  have  led  to  any 
systematic  mining  operations  under  the  direction  of  European 
miners.  The  climate  alone  is  a  sufficient  hindrance. 

The  gold-washings  in  Senegambia  and  in  Bambuk,  are  said 
to  be  of  importance.  In  Nubia,  the  negroes  wash  the  auri- 
ferous earth  in  wooden  bowls  or  in  gourds,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility lose  the  larger  portion  of  the  precious  metal. 

Russegger,  who  travelled  through  Nubia  in  1838,  gives  the 
following  as  the  results  of  his  investigations  in  regard  to  the 
occurrence  of  gold  in  Central  Africa.* 

1.  In  the  interior  of  Africa,  in  the  so-called  primitive  chain 
which  stretches  from  east-northeast  to  west-southwest,  and  in 
the  alluvions  of  the  rivers  flowing  from  it,  there  exists  a  large 
amount  of  gold,  though  not  equal  to  the  fabulous  quantity 
imagined  by  some.  2.  The  gold  is  found  in  scales  and  dust 
in  Sennaar  and  the  south  of  Abyssinia,  in  the  gneiss  and 
chlorite  slates,  and  also  in  granite.  In  the  latter  rock,  it 
occurs  in  quartz  veins,  with  iron  pyrites  and  hematite ;  in 
the  chlorite  slates  it  is  found  in  immense  quartz  beds,  with 
various  ores  of  iron.  3.  In  the  gold-bearing  alluvial  strata, 
those  beds  are  richest  in  the  precious  metal  which  are  of  an 
ochrey  character,  with  coarse  detritus  intermixed,  or  of  a  fine 
clay,  with  roots  of  plants  scattered  through  it.  4.  The  swifter 
and  rockier  the  stream,  so  much  the  richer  is  it  in  gold.  5. 
The  gold  is  remarkably  pure  and  of  a  deep  yellow  color. 

The  whole  amount  of  gold  obtained  from  Africa  at  present 
is  estimated  by  Mr.  Dusgate,  a  gentleman  spoken  of  by  Mur- 
chison  as  familiar  with  the  subject,  as  not  over  T\.  of  the  pro- 
duce of  the  Siberian  mines  in  1850,  which  would  be  3,744 
Ibs.  Mr.  Birkmyre  puts  it  at  4000  Ibs.  The  physical  diffi- 
culties are  too  great  to  render  it  probable  that  Africa,  how- 
ever rich  its  mines  may  be,  will  add  much  to  our  metallic 
wealth  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

AUSTRALIA. — The  southeastern  corner  of  Australia  is  bor- 
dered by  a  series  of  chains  of  mountains,  of  which  the  culmi- 
nating ridge  is  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  distant  from 

*  Karsten  and  Dechen's  Archiv.  xii.  153. 


100  GEOLOGY    OF    AUSTRALIA. 

the  ocean.*  Its  highest  point,  Mount  Kosciusko,  is  6,500 
feet  above  the  sea.  West  of  Sydney,  in  New  South  Wales, 
the  line  of  the  chain  is  nearly  north  and  south,  but  in  Vic- 
toria the  watershed  has  an  east  and  west  direction.  This 
Australian  Cordillera,  as  it  has  been  called  by  Murchison,  is 
made  up  principally  of  schists ;  namely,  micaceous,  argilla- 
ceous, and  silicious  slates,  interlaminated  with  granite.  The 
slates,  like  almost  all  other  schistose  rocks  occurring  over 
large  districts,  have  a  general  north  and  south  strike,  and 
stand  nearly  vertical ;  they  appear  to  be  of  Silurian  age,  but 
are  highly  metamorphosed.  Silurian  fossils  have  been  found 
on  the  flanks  of  the  dividing  range  of  New  South  "Wales,  but 
exactly  under  what  conditions  we  have  been  unable  to  learn. 
These  slates  have  been  broken  up  and  invaded  by  igneous 
rocks,  syenite,  porphyry,  basalt,  and  trap ;  as,  for  instance, 
on  the  Macquairie  and  the  Turon.  In  short,  the  resem- 
blance between  the  geological  position  and  mineralogical 
character  of  the  rocks  of  the  Australian  and  Uralian  Cordil- 
leras is  so  striking,  that  Murchison,  in  an  examination  of  the 
specimens  and  maps  of  Count  Strzelecki,  in  1844,  was  led 
to  declare,  that  analogy  would  justify  him  in  predicting  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  Australia.  Two  years  afterwards  he 
received  from  that  distant  region  specimens  of  auriferous 
quartz,  and,  on  the  strength  of  these  indications,  he  advised 
the  Cornish  miners  to  make  an  attempt  to  develop  the  sup- 
posed riches  of  the  Southern  Continent.  This  advice  was 
printed  and  circulated  abroad,  as  well  as  at  home,  and,  it 
may  be  presumed,  had  some  influence  in  determining  a 
search  for  the  precious  metal.  The  discovery  of  the  golden 
wealth  of  California,  however,  was  the  immediate  cause  of 
the  opening  of  the  Australian  gold  region,  having  the  same 
stimulating  effect  there  on  the  search  for  gold  that  it  had 
everywhere  else. 

It  is  worthy  of  being  recorded  that  Earl  Grey,  who  was 
addressed  on  this  subject  by  Murchison,  took  no  steps  what- 
ever to  promote  the  discovery  of  gold,  on  the  ground  that 

*  G.  H.  Wathen,  in  Qu.  Jour.  Geol.  Soc.  ix.  74.  See  also  Delesse,  in  Ann.  des 
Mines  (5),  iii.  185. 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    GOLD.  101 

the  production  of  this'  metal  would  interfere  with  sheep- 
growing  !  Luckily,  such  men  have  not  the  power  of  long 
restraining  Anglo-Saxon  energy.  A  writer  in  the  Quarterly 
Keview*  has  well  said,  "  We  were  quite  unprepared  for  such 
pastoral  predilection  in  the  colonial  office  under  Lord  Grey's 
presidency.  To  realize  Arcady  in  New  South  Wales,  and 
convert  convicts  into  Strephons,  might  he  a  very  amiable 
conception,  but  would  hardly  justify  the  minister  of  a  great 
commercial  empire — and,  above  all,  a  zealot  of  Free  Trade — 
in  an  attempt  to  cushion  rich  sources  of  mineral  wealth 
opened  in  a  colony  under  the  watch  of  his  intelligence." 

Thus  things  went  on  while  California  was  raining  her 
golden  shower,  a  "Mr.  Smith,"  in  the  meantime,  having 
applied  to  government  for  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of 
auriferous  deposits,  which  he  was  willing  to  disclose  on 
being  paid  for  it,  till  a  "returned  Californian,"  of  the  name 
of  Hargraves,  urged  on  by  the  strong  resemblance  of  the 
rocks  of  Australia  to  those  of  the  gold  region  in  California, 
without  waiting  for  the  slow  motion  of  government  in  reply 
to  his  application,  and  notification  that  gold  would  be  found, 
commenced  "prospecting"  on  Macquairie  Eiver,  and  on 
the  8th  of  May,  1851,  the  Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands 
received  a  notification  from  him  that  several  ounces  of  gold 
had  been  found  on  a  branch  of  the  Macquairie,  and,  soon 
after,  that  a  piece  weighing  thirteen  ounces  had  been  dug 
up.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  the  excitement  grew 
amain,  and  that  the  whole  neighboring  population  rushed  to 
the  second  California. 

As  soon  as  the  discovery  became  an  established  fact,  the 
government  began  to  stir  in  the  matter,  and  laid  claim  to 
the  region,  granting  licenses  to  dig  for  gold  for  £1  10s.  per 
month,  and  also  instituted  a  geological  commission  to  ex- 
plore the  country,  whose  reports  have  been  published  in  the 
government  blue-books. 

The  gold  discoveries  extend  over  a  space  of  at  least  nine 
degrees  of  latitude,  and  occupy  a  breadth  of  fifty  miles,  or 
more,  along  the  line  of  junction  of  the  palaeozoic  strata  and 
the  eruptive  rocks.  The  first  diggings  on  the  Summerhill 

*  Quart.  Rev.  xci.  511. 


102  QUARTZ    VEINS    OF    AUSTRALIA. 

were  christened  "  Ophir,"  and  soon  after,  the  Turon  Valley 
was  found  to  be  auriferous  for  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles ;  twenty  miles  north  of  the  Turon,  on  the  Meroo, 
a  native  shepherd  discovered  blocks  of  quartz,  rich  in  gold, 
lying  on  the  surface,  from  one  of  which  60  Ibs.  of  the  metal 
were  taken.  The  next  great  discovery  was  at  Araluen,  two 
hundred  miles  south  of  the  Turon ;  and  between  these  loca- 
lities numerous  others  have  since  been  found,  extending 
over  a  distance  of  seven  hundred  miles  in  length,  north 
and  south. 

The  name  of  Victoria  was  given,  in  1850,  to  a  district  pre- 
viously almost  unknown,  which  lies  around  Port  Philip,  and 
of  which  Melbourne  was  the  principal  settlement.  In  this 
colony  the  discovery  of  gold  was  announced  in  August, 
1851,  and  the  Ballarat  diggings,  about  fifty-five  miles  north- 
west of  Geelong,  at  the  junction  of  the  slates  and  the  trap- 
pean  rocks,  were  soon  found  to  surpass  all  that  had  been 
discovered  in  New  South  Wales.  This,  and  the  Mount 
Alexander  gold-field,  a  few  miles  north,  have  yielded  almost 
fabulous  quantities.  In  October,  1851,  about  3,000  persons 
were  at  work  at  the  Ballarat  diggings ;  but,  in  December,  it 
was  computed  that  at  least  12,000  persons  were  collected  at 
the  Mount  Alexander  gold-field,  within  a  space  of  fifteen 
square  miles.  It  is  not  necessary  to  give  particulars  of  the 
large  nuggets  found,  or  the  excitement  which  followed  on 
each  successive  discovery ;  the  statistics  of  the  yield  of  these 
gold-fields  are  sufficient  to  enable  every  one  to  judge  of  the 
effect  which  such  revelations  of  golden  wealth  must  have 
had  on  the  astonished  Australians. 

The  Australian  gold  is  of  remarkable  fineness,  the  dif- 
ferent analyses  giving  from  three  to  seven  per  cent,  of  silver. 
The  whole  amount,  almost  without  exception,  has  been  thus 
far  obtained  from  washings ;  and  although  numerous  quartz- 
mining  companies  have  been  organized,  they  have,  it  is  be- 
lieved, without  exception,  failed  to  accomplish  anything. 
Mr.  Calvert,  in  his  work,  which  draws  so  heavily  on  the  cre- 
dulity of  the  reader,  declares  that  he  had  discovered  nearly 
two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  gold-bearing  quartz  veins,  pro- 
ducing on  the  average  2J  dwts.  to  the  ton.  He  speaks  of 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    SUPERFICIAL    DEPOSITS.    103 

one,  in  particular,  the  Macquairie  vein,  as  having  "been  traced 
forty  miles,  running  north  and  south.  This  vein,  he  admits, 
could  not  probably  be  worked  with  profit  at  the  present  time. 
From  another  vein,  Mr.  Calvert  mentions  that  he  broke  off 
3  cwts.  of  rock,  which  yielded  76  Ibs.  of  the  pure  metal. 
The  investigations  now  going  on  in  London,  with  regard  to 
the  gold-quartz  mining  companies  of  Australia,  would  indi- 
cate that  they  are  mostly  swindling  concerns ;  and  also  that 
the  quartz  veins  are  not  rich  in  gold,  or,  at  least,  have  not 
yet  been  proved  to  be. 

The  auriferous  deposits  present  the  most  striking  analogy 
with  those  of  California.  There  are  innumerable  "  dig- 
gings," which  are  sometimes  quite  superficial,  and  some- 
times extend  through  the  detritus  and  loose  materials  to 
the  "bottom  rock"  or  "ledge,"  namely  the  rock  in  place. 
In  the  surface-workings,  which  are  exclusively  on  the  flanks 
of  the  hills,  the  gold  is  diffused  through  the  gravelly  soil  to 
the  depth  of  six  to  twelve  inches,  beneath  which  there  is  a 
stiff,  red  clay,  which  contains  little  or  no  gold.  In  the 
deeper  workings,  it  is  necessary  sometimes  to  sink  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  feet,  or  even  more,  before  reaching  the  auri- 
ferous deposits.  These  are  of  varying  character.  The  chan- 
nels of  the  small  streams  coming  down  from  the  mountains, 
and  often  entirely  dry  for  most  of  the  year,  are  usually  rich 
in  gold,  which  is  found  accumulated  against  the  "bars"  or 
projecting  ledges  of  rock,  and  forced  into  the  chinks  between 
the  strata.  The  more  precipitous  the  torrent,  the  larger  the 
nuggets  which  are  found ;  where  the  valley  expands  out,  the 
golden  particles  are  smaller.  These  rich  deposits  are  fre- 
quently found  at  the  entrance  of  a  lateral  into  the  main  val- 
ley, where  there  has  been  an  eddy  in  the  current,  caused  by 
the  contraction  of  the  mouth  of  the  lateral  valley. 

In  the  valleys  of  the  Bendoc  and  Delegete,  according  to 
Kev.  "W.  B.  Clarke,  the  superficial  deposits  are  in  the  follow- 
ing order : — 

1.  Gold-bearing  detritus,  made  up  of  fragments  of  slate  and  quartz,  cemented 
by  argillaceous  matter. 

2.  Pipe-clay. 

3.  Erratic  blocks  and  pebbles  of  quartz  containing  gold. 

4.  Rock  in  place. 


104  AUSTRALIAN    GOLD. 

The  minerals  and  rocks  associated  with  the  gold  deposits 
are  similar  to  those  of  other  great  gold-bearing  districts. 
Quartz  is  exceedingly  abundant,  and  evidently  the  gangue 
of  the  gold.  Magnetic  iron  sand,  sometimes  titaniferous,  is 
rarely  wanting.  The  rarer  minerals  are  topaz,  garnet,  zircon, 
corundum,  rutile,  and  the  diamond,  of  which  one  crystal,  at 
least,  is  said  to  have  been  found  on  the  Turon.  Platina  is 
not  wanting;  but,  thus  far,  seems  to  be  quite  rare.  The 
quartz  and  oxide  of  iron  were  evidently  originally  associated 
with  the  gold  ;  the  precious  gems  may  or  may  not  have  oc- 
curred in  the  same  connection ;  their  hardness,  indestructi- 
bility, and  high  specific  gravity,  would  cause  them  to  be 
found  under  the  same  circumstances  as  the  gold,  and  in  com- 
pany with  it,  in  the  superficial  detritus,  even  if  derived  from 
rocks  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  gold-bearing  quartz 
veins. 

The  question,  whether  the  accumulations  of  superficial 
detrital  matter  containing  gold,  such  as  pebbles,  fine  clays, 
and  sands,  are  due  to  the  long-continued  and  gradual  action 
of  causes  which  are  still  in  operation,  such  as  currents  of 
water,  rain,  and  the  like,  or  whether  they  are  the  result  of  ca- 
taclysmal  action,  namely,  of  a  drift-period  similar  to  that  of 
our  "Northern  drift,"  is  one  of  great  interest  both  scientifi- 
cally and  practically;  but  the  data  are  too  incomplete,  at 
present,  to  allow  any  positive  opinion  to  be  formed  on  that 
point. 

Mr.  Stutchbury,  one  of  the  government  geologists  in  New 
South  Wales,  considers  that  the  evidence  is  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  gold-bearing  detritus  having  been  accumulated 
by  the  slow  disintegration  and  consequent  denudation  of  the 
rocks,  under  the  action  of  causes  not  differing  from  those 
now  in  operation. 

The  apparatus  used  by  the  miners  for  separating  the  gold 
is  of  the  greatest  simplicity,  consisting  of  the  cradle  and  pan. 
In  the  richest  fields  of  Victoria,  up  to  a  very  recent  period 
certainly,  thousands  of  miners  have  collected  large  quantities 
of  gold  without  even  so  simple  a  machine  as  the  cradle,  by 
simple  "panning." 

Imperfect  as  are  the  statistics  of  the  total  yield  of  Australia, 


STATISTICS.  105 

they  are  far  more  satisfactory  than  the  accounts  of  the  average 
contents  of  the  auriferous  earth  washed.  Mr.  Calvert  esti- 
mates it  at  -i90  grain  in  a  cubic  foot,  which  he  says  will  seem 
very  low.  Considering  the  average  depth  of  the  auriferous 
beds  to  be  thirty-nine  inches,  and  the  area  covered  by  them 
to  be  equal  to  68,700  square  miles,  the  total  amount  of  gold 
would  be  434,191  tons,  worth,  at  £3  19s.  per  ounce,  the  trifling 
sum  of  £46,100,571,660.  To  this  Mr.  Calvert  adds,  that  this 
amount  is  exclusive  of  the  gold  contained  in  the  solid  rock 
and  the  quartz  veins. 

The  difficulty  of  arriving  at  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
amount  of  gold  produced  in  Australia  seems  to  be  very 
great.  The  following  estimates  are  selected  from  those  sup- 
posed to  be  most  reliable. 

The  gold  produced  in  the  colony  of  Victoria  is  mostly 
brought,  under  government  or  private  escort,  to  Melbourne, 
Geelong,  or  Adelaide ;  but  a  portion  of  it  is  carried  by  pri- 
vate hand  across  to  Sydney.  That  of  New  South  Wales, 
which  is  much  less  in  quantity,  goes  to  Sydney  almost  exclu- 
sively. Hence,  we  have  a  first  approximation  to  the  total 
produce  in  the  amount  carried  under  escort  to  these  sea-ports. 
But  this  is  but  a  portion  of  the  gold,  since  a  considerable 
quantity  finds  its  way  to  the  cities  through  private  hands. 
The  amount  exported  and  manifested  is  a  better  guide ;  but 
to  this  must  be  added  what  is  taken  by  passengers  privately, 
and  what  remains  in  the  country,  in  circulation,  in  the  hands 
of  bankers,  and  in  transitu. 

The  returns  of  the  exports  of  native  gold  for  the  different 
years  are  believed  to  be  approximately  as  follows : — 

Year.  Victoria.           New  South  Wales.    Total  of  Australia. 

Ihs.  troy.  Ibs.  troy.  Ibs.  troy. 

1851, 12,176  11,910  24,086 

1852, 164,580  70,636  235,216 

1853 212,105  63,800  275,005 

Total  since  the   discovery  of  

the  gold  to  end  of  1853,      .  388,861  146,346  535,207 

The  production  of  1852  is  that  which  can  be  most  accu- 
rately determined;  and  here  there  are  numerous  estimates 
which  agree  tolerably  with  each  other. 


106  STATISTICS    OF    AUSTRALIAN    GOLD. 

The  total  production  of  the  colony  of  Victoria  is  estimated 
as  follows  by  different  authorities : — 

1851.  1852.  1853  (1st  half). 

English  Mining  Journal,      .      224,140  oz.  4,167,571  oz.  1.290,059  oz. 

Mr.  Khull,  bullion-broker  at 

Melbourne, 4,247,657 

William  Westgarth,     .     .     .  4,545.780 

Melbourne  Argus,  ....  4,000,000 

The  total  yield  of  Victoria  and  New  South  "Wales  for  1852 
is  estimated  by  M.  Delesse,  from  data  obtained  by  Murchison 
from  official  sources,  at  400,000,000  francs  =  £16,000,000. 

Mr.  Birkmyre,  who  was  on  the  spot,  and  may  be  supposed 
to  have  had  good  opportunities  for  judging,  has  placed  his 
estimates  somewhat  lower,  namely : — 

1851, 23,667  Ibs. 

1852, 266,178    " 

These  estimates,  however,  seem  rather  too  low,  since  the 
quantity  actually  exported  in  1851  seems  to  have  exceeded 
that  given  by  Mr.  Birkmyre. 

During  the  year  1853  the  produce  diminished  considerably. 
The  yield  of  New  South  Wales  reached  its  maximum  early 
in  1852,  apparently.  That  of  Victoria  seems  to  have  been 
at  its  highest  point  from  July  to  November,  1852,  when 
Mount  Alexander  and  Ballarat  were  producing  enormously, 
as  shown  by  the  following  account  of  the  gold  taken  from 
those  fields  to  Melbourne  and  other  places,  according  to 
escort  returns : — 

June,        1852, 162,990  ounces. 

July,  " 353,182       " 

August,         " 350,968       " 

September,  " 366,193       " 

October,        « 264,683       " 

The  following  figures  show  the  amounts  taken  from  the 
Victoria  gold-fields  for  each  month  of  the  years  1852  and 
1853,  specifying  for  the  first  nine  months  of  each  year  the 
number  of  ounces  brought  by  escort  to  Melbourne,  and  for 


YIELD    OF    VICTORIA. 


107 


the  last  three  months,  to  Melbourne  and  Geelong,  thus  afford- 
ing a  comparative  view  of  the  yield  of  the  two  years : — 


1852. 

1853. 

January 

53  594 

1  er  rt  <" 

February 

50,142 

loO,ulo  ounces. 
172  329       " 

U                                            (i 

March,  .     . 

*62,026 

109,054 

ii 

It                             (t 

April,   .     . 

68,041 

170,427 

u 

u                             u 

May,     .     . 

77,247 

110,812 

u 

It                        ti 

June,     . 

116,009 

122,095 

« 

tt                             a 

July,     .    . 

320,218 

198,007 

« 

Brought  to  Melbourne  and  Geelong, 

October,     . 

334,048 

200,280 

II 

(1                                        ((                       It                 U 

November, 

327,023 

102,393 

« 

U                                           ((                         <(                   (( 

December, 

121,827 

170,580 

« 

The  same  inference  may  be  drawn  from  the  following  table, 
which  is  stated  to  have  been  prepared  by  a  gentleman  in 
South  Australia,  who  had  given  much  attention  to  the  statis- 
tics of  gold.*  It  shows  the  amount  of  gold  brought  to  Mel- 
bourne, Geelong,  and  Adelaide,  by  government  and  private 
expresses,  and  also  gives  an  estimate  of  the  quantity  brought 
by  private  hand,  together  with  the  shipments  for  each  quarter 
from  the  first  discovery  to  the  middle  of  1853 : — 


Year. 

Quarter  ending 

Brought  by 

Estimated  by 

Total. 

Shipped. 

escort. 

private  hand. 

1851,  . 

.     Dec.  31,     .      . 

.      .      124,522 

99,018 

224,140 

145,116 

1852,  . 

.     March  31,      . 

.     .     178,000 

350,012 

534,018 

420,445 

a 

.     June  30,    .     . 

.     .     299.015 

599,230 

898.845 

339  729 

" 

.     Sept.  30,    .     . 

.     .  1,017,283 

508,041 

1,525,924 

512,092 

u 

.     Dec.  31,     .     . 

907,027 

241,757 

1,208,784 

702,110 

1853,  . 

.     March  31,      . 

.     .     570,192 

144,048 

720,240 

601,957 

ti 

.     July  2,       .     . 

.     .     400,055 

115,104 

575,819 

572,121 

3,023,300      2,004,470        5,087,770      3,354,170 

The  principal  yield  of  Victoria,  up  to  the  middle  of  1853, 
was  from  the  Ballarat  and  Mount  Alexander  gold-fields; 
several  others  have  been  discovered,  but  none  of  them  have 
compared  in  richness  with  these  two.  As  might  reasonably 
have  been  expected,  the  large  number  of  persons  congregated 
there,  and  employed  in  digging  and  washing,  amounting  to 
over  100,000  probably,  caused  these  limited  areas  of  unpre- 

*  Eng.  Mg.  Journal,  Nov.  5,  1S53. 


108  GOLD    IN    SOUTH    AMERICA. 

cedented  richness  to  be  soon  worked  out.  New  localities 
may  be  discovered,  and  the  old  ones  will  continue  to  be  worked 
with  more  moderate  returns ;  but  it  seems  probable  that  there 
will  be  a  gradual  falling  off  in  the  yield.  This  is  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  E.  Hopkins,  an  English  mining  engineer  well  known 
to  the  scientific  worM,  who  also  gives  it  as  the  result  of  his 
observations  in  Australia,  that  there  are  no  quartz  veins  there 
worthy  of  being  worked. 

The  amount  of  gold  imported  into  England  from  Australia 
is  stated  as  follows : — 

1852, £7,282,635 

1853, 14,972,743 

Of  course  the  amount  received  in  England  in  any  particular 
year,  would  not  be  a  guide  to  that  actually  obtained  during 
the  same  year  in  Australia,  the  length  of  time  required  for 
the  passage  being  several  months. 

On  the  whole,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  the  various 
returns  and  estimates,  some  of  which  evidently  bear  the 
marks  of  exaggeration,  while  others  appear  to  have  been 
carefully  compiled,  I  have  adopted  as  the  production  of 
Victoria  and  New  South  Wales  together,  the  following 
amounts  of  pure  gold,  which  probably  nearly  approximate  to 
the  truth. 

Year.  Ibs.  troy. 

1851, 30,000 

1852, 330,000 

1853, 210,000 

SOUTH  AMERICA. — Although  the  silver  mines  of  South 
America  were  at  one  time  pouring  forth  a  stream  of  wealth 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  causing  a  general 
rise  in  prices,  similar  to  that  which  we  are  now  witnessing, 
as  the  result  of  an  unprecedented  yield  of  gold ;  yet,  of  this 
latter  metal,  the  quantity  furnished  by  that  country  has  never 
been  very  large.  In  1800,  the  whole  produce  of  the  Southern 
American  continent  was  estimated  by  Humboldt  at  33,524 
Ibs.  of  gold ;  of  which  9,900  Ibs.  were  the  yield  of  Brazil ; 
while  at  the  same  time  the  annual  proceeds  of  the  silver 
mines,  according  to  the  same  authority,  amounted  to  691,625 


NEW    GRENADA.  109 

Ibs.,  gold  and  silver  being  as  1  to  21  nearly  by  weight.  In 
1850,  the  amount  of  gold  had  fallen  oft'  to  about  24,000 
Ibs.,  or  three-fourths  of  what  it  was  at  the  commencement 
of  the  century.  According  to  Chevalier,  the  total  yield 
of  the  precious  metals  from  the  Andes  of  Peru  and  Bolivia 
was,  up  to  1846,  in  the  ratio  of  1  part  of  gold  by  weight,  to 
170  of  silver. 

New  Grenada. — The  ancient  vice-royalty  of  New  Grenada 
was,  from  1819  to  1831,  united  with  Venezuela,  and  part  of 
the  time  with  Equador,  forming  the  republic  of  Columbia. 
Each  of  these  states  is  now  nominally  an  independent  re- 
public. This  part  of  South  America,  as  also  Brazil,  produces 
almost  exclusively  gold.  Of  the  New  Grenada  mines  we 
have  ample  accounts,  although  not  of  recent  date,  from  Bous- 
singault,  Chevalier,  and  other  travellers  and  mining  engineers, 
sent  out  to  explore  that  region ;  the  principal  mines  and 
washings  are  in  the  provinces  of  Antioquia  and  Yeraguas. 
In  the  former  there  is  said  to  be  hardly  a  river  which  does 
not  flow  over  auriferous  sands,  and  there  are  also  numerous 
quartz-veins  in  the  granite  which  are  worked  to  some  extent. 
The  principal  mines  of  this  character,  worked  in  1850,  were 
on  the  river  Force.  The  veins  are  of  quartz,  carrying  auri- 
ferous pyrites,  which,  near  the  surface,  is  much  decomposed. 
They  resemble  in  every  respect  the  gold-bearing  quartz-veins 
of  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  the  provinces  of  Panama  and 
Yeraguas  the  veins  are  also  numerous ;  but  their  yield  of 
gold  is  small,  not  amounting,  according  to  Boucard,*  to  over 
0*002  per  cent.,  on  the  average. 

The  yield  of  the  province  of  Antioquia,  in  the  year  1847-8, 
was  supposed  to  be  12,500  Ibs.  Chevalier  estimated  the 
amount  annually  produced  in  the  republic  at  13,276  Ibs., 
and  the  total  produce  as  follows : — 

Previous  to  1810,  .  .  .  $295,000,000 

From  1810  to  184  G,      .  .  .  81,500,000 

$376,500,000 
Equal  to  556,840  kilos,  pure  gold,  or  1,492,331  Ibs.  troy. 

Mr.  Danson,f  from  information  based  on  the  returns  of 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xvi.  377.  |  Jour-  Stat-  Soc-  of  London,  xiv.  40. 


110  GOLD    IN    BRAZIL. 

the  English  consuls,  estimates  the  total  amount  produced, 
from  1804  to  1848,  at  $204,085,328. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  New  Grenada  is  still  rich 
in  gold ;  under  a  different  climate,  and  with  more  energetic 
inhabitants,  its  produce  of  this  metal  would  be  greatly  in- 
creased. 

There  are  several  English  companies  working  gold  mines 
in  this  country. 

West  Grenada,  or  Veraguas  Mining  Company. — This  property  has  been 
very  favorably  reported  on  by  a  gentleman  formerly  connected  with  the  St. 
John  del  Rey  mines.  The  gold-bearing  quartz  is  said  to  be  very  rich.  Pre- 
parations were  making,  in  1853,  to  work  it  on  an  extensive  scale. 

Mariquita  and  New  Grenada. — This  company  owns  the  Marmato  mines, 
among  others,  and  is  working  them  with  considerable  profit. 

The  New  Grenada  Mining  Company,  in  the  district  of  Antioquia,  has  re- 
cently purchased  the  mines  of  Frontino,  nine  leagues  west  of  the  city  of  An- 
tioquia. The  produce  of  this  mine,  as  worked  for  several  years  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, has  been  from  15  to  25  Ibs.  of  gold  per  month.  The  workings  have 
been  confined  to  one  quartz  vein,  which  is  mixed  with  iron  pyrites,  and  varies 
in  thickness  from  two  inches  to  five  feet. 

Venezuela. — That  part  of  the  ancient  viceroyalty  of  New 
Grenada  which  is  now  Venezuela  had  produced  very  little 
or  no  gold  up  to  very  recent  times  ;*  but  lately  this  metal 
has  been  obtained  in  considerable  quantity  in  the  canton  of 
Upata,  province  of  Guyana,  and  also  in  the  province  of 
Cumana,  at  Campano.f 

Brazil. — Although  Mexico  and  Peru  have  furnished  the 
larger  part  of  the  metallic  treasures  of  the  New  World,  their 
yield  has  been  chiefly  of  silver.  Brazil,  on  the  other  hand, 
has,  for  a  great  length  of  time,  been  famous  for  its  gold 
alluvia,  which  have  been  worked  since  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century,  and  have  produced  an  enormous  amount. 
There  is  considerable  and  more  precise  information  than  is 
usually  to  be  had  in  regard  to  South  American  mines,  in 
the  works  of  Yon  Eschwege,  formerly  Director-General  of 
the  Brazilian  mines,  Burat,  and  others. 

It  was  chiefly  from  the  washings  of  the  auriferous  alluvia 
of  Minas  Geraes,  that  the  large  quantity  of  gold  which 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xviii.  J07.  f  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  i.  GOO. 


ST.    JOHN    DEL    KEY    MINES.  Ill 

flowed  from  Brazil  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  obtained ; 
but,  at  present,  the  principal  source  of  produce  are  the  veins 
in  the  solid  rock.  Burat  has  given  an  excellent  account  of 
the  mining  region  of  Brazil,*  which  shows  that  the  aurife- 
rous deposits  are  somewhat  different  in  character  from  those 
in  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  rocks  are  supposed  to  be 
of  palseozoic  age,  but  are  so  metamorphosed  as  to  be  not  re- 
ferable to  any  precise  epoch.  They  have  not  been  elevated 
into  Cordilleras,  but  form  a  series  of  disconnected  elevations ; 
the  trappean  and  other  eruptive  rocks  appearing  rather  in 
dome-like  protuberances  and  dykes  than  in  mountain  chains. 
It  seems  pretty  certain  that  there  have  been  no  geological 
disturbances  of  so  late  a  period  as  the  elevation  of  the  Andes. 
The  rocks  most  developed  are  gneiss,  and  those  varieties  of 
quartz-rock  which  are  known  in  Brazil  by  the  names  of 
itacolumite,  jacotinga,  and  itabirite. 

These  rocks  are  characteristic  of  Brazil.  The  itacolumite 
is  a  quartz  mixed  with  chlorite,  and  is  sometimes  of  enormous 
thickness.  When  it  takes  into  its  composition  specular  iron, 
it  becomes  the  rock  known  as  itabirite  or  jacotinga,  accord- 
ing as  it  is  crystalline  or  compact.  The  gold  is  disseminated 
through  the  whole  of  the  metalliferous  bed,  there  being  no 
regular  veins ;  but  it  is  especially  concentrated  in  the  vicinity 
of  masses  of  specular  iron,  and  in  connection  with  quartz. 

The  great  importance  of  the  Brazilian  gold  mines,  as  being 
the  only  ones  both  extensively  and  profitably  worked  in  the 
solid  rock,  induces  me  to  present  a  somewhat  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  one  of  the  most  important,  that  of  St.  John  del  Rey. 
This,  as  well  as  the  other  principal  companies  working  in  the 
neighborhood,  is  owned  and  managed  entirely  by  English 
capitalists. 

The  St.  John  del  Rey  Company  is  divided  into  11,000  shares,  on  each  of 
which  £15  have  been  paid  up.  The  operations  were  commenced  on  the 
estate  of  Morro  Velho  in  1834,  having  been  previously  carried  on  in  other 
localities  with  considerable  loss.  In  1838  the  mine  was  first  worked  with 
profit ;  and  since  that  period,  up  to  the  present  time,  it  has  been  steadily 
increasing  in  value. 

The  gold  is  found  in  a  heavy  bed  of  jacotinga,  which  is  intercalated  in 

*  Comptes  Rendus,  xii.  252. 


112  ,  ST.    JOHN    DEL    KEY    MINES. 

a  very  argillaceous  itacolumite  slate  of  a  reddish-blue  color.  It  had  been 
worked  for  a  hundred  years  before  coming  into  the  possession  of  the  present 
Company,  and  was  considered  exhausted.  The  auriferous  mass  averages 
about  44  feet  in  width,  and  dips  with  the  rocks  of  the  vicinity  at  an  angle  of 
about  45°  to  the  southeast.  It  consists  mainly  of  specular  iron  mixed  with  sul- 
phuret  of  iron,  magnetic  pyrites,  and  quartz.  Its  average  yield  of  gold  for 
the  last  four  years  has  been  as  follows : — 

1849.  1850.  1851.  1852. 

3-89  4  07  3-89  4-25      oitavas  per  ton. 

•00137  -00143  -00137  -0015  per  cent. 

In  numerous  places  there  are  cavities  and  "  vugs,"  lined  with  fine  crystals  of 
calc.  spar  and  spathic  iron,  which,  themselves,  are  frequently  covered  with 
smaller  crystals  of  specular  iron,  magnetic  pyrites,  &c.  When  these  drusy 
cavities  are  frequent,  the  yield  of  gold  diminishes,  and  this  metal  is  most  abun- 
dant in  the  compact,  uncrystallized,  specular  iron.  There  are  three  mines 
known  as  Bahu,  Cachoeira,  and  Gambu.  The  principal  shafts  are  sunk  in- 
clining about  45°  with  the  auriferous  bed,  and  the  ore  is  raised  on  a  tram-road 
by  cars.  The  Bahu  mine  is  about  1200  feet  deep.  As  the  ore  comes  up,  it  is 
broken  by  negro  women,  and  then  carried  to  the  stamps,  of  which  there  are 
one  hundred  and  twenty  heads  in  operation,  moved  by  three  or  four  large  water- 
wheels.  The  coarse  gold  is  caught  on  cow-skins,  which  are  changed  every 
two  hours,  while  the  slimes  are  amalgamated  in  barrels.  In  each  barrel  are 
placed  80  Ibs.  of  mercury  to  16  cubic  feet  of  slime,  and  the  whole  is  allowed  to 
revolve  for  thirty  hours.  The  Tyrolian  mills  have  been  tried  here  and  found 
not  to  succeed. 

The  Company  own  1000  slaves,  and  employ  about  80  or  90  Europeans  as 
overseers,  captains,  mechanics,  and  head-men,  in  every  department.  Some  300 
Brazilians  are  hired  by  the  day  as  surface-men.  The  annexed  table  shows  the 
quantity  of  rock  stamped,  and  the  amount  of  gold  produced,  for  a  few  years 
past,  together  with  the  profits  : — 

1846.  1847.  1848.  1849.  1850.  1851.  1852. 

Ore  stamped  (tons),  .    .    34.935  40,234  58,122  67,336  67,106  79.810  82,642 

Gold  produced  (Ibs.  troy),  1.465  1,638  2,108          2,473  2,541  3,000  3,233 

Net  profit, £14,820  21,536  32,269  38,136  35,880  51,586  55,391 

The  average  number  of  stamp-heads  working,  during  the  year  1852-3,  was 
118'58.  The  quantity  of  stamp-sand  or  slimes  amalgamated,  was  19,709'59 
cubic  feet,  which  yielded  17 '02  oitavas  of  gold  (or  2  oz.  troy,  nearly)  to  the 
cubic  foot.  The  loss  of  mercury  was  728  Ibs.,  or  0'037  Ib.  per  cubic  foot  of 
slime  amalgamated.  The  net  profit  in  the  same  year  amounted  to  £55,390  16s., 
and  the  total  profits  of  the  Company,  from  1838  to  1852,  to  £312,621 ;  a  re- 
sult due  mainly  to  economy  and  skill  in  working  an  ore  occurring  in  abun- 
dance, but  very  poor  in  gold.  The  gold  contains  about  20  per  ct.  of  silver. 

Imperial  Brazilian  Mining  Association. — This  Company  was  formed  in 
1825,  for  the  purpose  of  working  gold  mines  in  the  province  of  Minas  Geraes. 
They  commenced  by  purchasing  the  estate  of  Gongo  Soco,  which  in  fifteen 


MEXICO.  113 

years  produced  nearly  a  million  pounds  sterling.  From  1840,  the  returns  were 
less  satisfactory,  the  mine  for  some  years  not  paying  its  expenses.  Recently, 
however,  the  accounts  are  more  encouraging,  valuable  new  discoveries  having 
been  made,  and  old  workings  re-opened. 

This  Company  has  10,000  shares,  and  £25  per  share  paid  in  j  it  had  paid  to 
its  stockholders  in  dividends,  up  to  December  1844,  £380,000,  having  pro- 
duced in  ten  years  35,000  Ibs.  of  gold.  The  Congo  Soco  mine  was,  in  1840, 
378  feet  deep.  The  jacotinga  at  this  locality  is  50  fathoms  in  thickness,  and 
softer  than  that  of  the  Morro  Velho  mine.  The  Camara  lode,  at  present 
worked,  is  10  fathoms  in  width,  and  composed  of  a  series  of  quartz  layers,  or 
branches,  containing  iron  pyrites,  oxide  of  iron,  and  oxide  of  manganese. 

National  Brazilian  Mining  Company. — This  Company  was  wound  up  in 
1853,  the  mine  having  been  ruined  by  culpable  neglect  on  the  part  of  the 
manager,  who  had  been  superseded.  It  had  produced,  in  1850,  120  Ibs.  of 
gold,  containing  14  per  cen£.  of  silver. 

The  greatest  yield  of  Brazil  in  gold  was  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Between  1752  and  1761  the 
amount  on  which  the  royal  quint  was  paid  varied  from 
17,000  to  21,500  Ibs.  yearly.  From  that  time  it  gradually 
fell  off,  and  was  in  1822  less  than  1000  Ibs.  The  mean 
annual  production  from  1810  to  1817  of  Minas  Geraes,  the 
principal  mining  district  of  the  country,  is  given  by  Hum- 
boldt  at  4288  Ibs.  At  present  the  English  companies  mining 
in  the  rock  furnish  almost  all  the  gold  obtained.  The  wash- 
ings have  nearly  ceased.  The  present  annual  produce  is 
probably  about  6000  Ibs. 

Chevalier  calculates  the  grand  total  of  gold  produced  by 
Brazil,  from  the  earliest  period  up  to  1845,  at  3,576,192  Ibs. 
troy.  The  data  on  which  any  such  conclusions  with  regard 
to  the  former  yield  of  Brazil  are  based  are  of  very  doubtful 
character.  From  1800  up  to  1850  the  average  seems  to  have 
been  about  $2,000,000  per  annum. 

MEXICO. — This  country  is  pre-eminently  that  of  silver 
veins.  Gold,  however,  occurs,  hardly  in  any  other  way  than 
as  a  constituent  of  small  percentage  of  the  argentiferous  ores. 
Yet  so  large  is  the  quantity  of  silver  produced  that  the 
accompanying  gold  becomes  a  matter  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. The  silver  of  Guanaxuato  and  Guadalupe  y  Calvo  is 
remarkably  rich  in  gold,  while  that  of  Tasco,  Catorce,  and 
Zacatecas,  is  poor.  The  ores  are  in  some  instances  ground 

8 


114  GOLD    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

under  the  arrastras  with  the  addition  of  mercury,  and  the 
silver  thus  obtained  by  amalgamation  yields  from  4  to  6  per 
cent,  of  gold.  M.  Duport  calculates  that  in  1840,  or  there- 
abouts, the  value  of  all  the  gold  produced  in  Mexico,  both 
from  the  washings  and  by  parting  from  silver,  was  equal  in 
weight  to  about  TJ5  of  the  latter  metal,  and,  in  value,  to  J. 
A  considerable  amount  of  gold  is  also  obtained  from  the 
washings  of  Sonora.  In  the  next  chapter,  when  speaking  of 
the  silver  of  Mexico,  some  statistics  of  the  yield  of  both  the 
precious  metals  will  be  given. 

There  are  gold  mines  in  Oaxaca  which  have  been  worked 
in  the  solid  rock  to  some  extent,  and  which,  in  the  opinion 
of  Chevalier,  are  destined  to  be  of  importance  at  some  future 
time. 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. — Nothing  definite  can  be  ascertained 
in  regard  to  the  gold-washings  of  Central  America.  Costa 
Rica  is  known  to  produce  a  small  quantity ;  but  it  is  mostly 
smuggled  out  of  the  country,  so  that  no  estimate  can  be 
made  of  its  amount. 


SECTION  III. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF   GOLD   IN    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

THE  gold  regions  of  the  United  States  are  at  least  two  in 
number,  but  of  very  unequal  importance,  although  similar 
in  extent.  The  one,  that  of  the  Atlantic  slope,  the  "  Appa- 
lachian gold-field,"  has  been  worked  to  a  moderate  extent 
for  over  thirty  years;  the  other,  that  of  California,  "the 
Sierra  Nevada  gold-field,"  has,  however,  in  the  six  years 
since  it  was  first  discovered,  produced  more  than  twelve 
times  as  much  as  has  hitherto  been  obtained  on  the  Atlantic 
side. 

The  development  of  the  riches  of  California  reacted  upon 
the  gold-bearing  districts  already  known  all  over  the  world, 
causing  a  general  search  for  the  precious  metal  in  many 
almost  abandoned  auriferous  localities,  and  stimulating  its 
production  in  an  incredible  degree.  Among  the  great  dis- 


EARLIEST    NOTICE    OF    ITS    OCCURRENCE.          115 

coveries  which  were  the  immediate  result  of  this  excitement, 
the  greatest  was  that  of  the  Australian  gold-fields,  which  rival 
with  those  of  California  itself  in  productiveness.  On  this  side 
of  the  American  continent  the  influence  of  California  has 
been  felt  in  the  renewed  attempts  to  develop  the  Appalachian 
gold  deposits,  which  are  now  attracting  a  greater  share  of 
attention  than  ever  before.  These  we  will  now  proceed  to 
describe,  so  far  as  the  materials  collected  by  a  personal 
examination  of  some  of  the  most  important  points,  and 
those  published  by  others,  will  allow.  It  must  be  premised, 
however,  that  descriptions  of  our  gold  mines  are  at  best  but 
unsatisfactory.  The  workings  are,  thus  far,  chiefly  super- 
ficial, and  do  not  possess  much  interest  as  specimens  of  the 
mining  art ;  neither  can  their  probable  value  in  most  cases 
be  ascertained  by  inspection,  since  the  precious  metal  usually 
lies  in  invisible  particles  within  its  rocky  matrix.  Assays  of 
numerous  samples  of  the  ore  are  necessary  to  determine  its 
value ;  and  the  safest  guide  to  enable  one  to  judge  of  the 
character  of  a  gold  mine  is  a  correct  statement  of  what  it  is 
producing.,  v 

The  first  notice  of  gold  in  the  Southern  States  which  I  can 
find,  is  in  Jefferson's  "  Notes  on  Virginia,",  in  which  it  is 
stated  that  a  lump  of  this  metal,  weighing  17  dwts.,  was 
found  near  the  Rappahannock.  Drayton's  "  View  of  South 
Carolina,"  published  in  1802,  also  mentions  the  finding  of  a 
small  piece  in  Greenville  District,  on  Paris's  Mountain. 
Cabarrus  County,  in  North  Carolina,  was  the  first  district 
where  it  was  obtained  in  any  noticeable  quantity.  In  1799, 
a  lump  of  gold,  said  to  have  been  of  the  size  "  of  a  small 
smoothing-iron,"  was  found  by  the  son  of  a  Mr.  Reed,  who 
kept  it  for  several  years  without  knowing  what  it  was  or 
suspecting  its  value.  It  was  finally  disposed  of  by  him  for 
$3  50.  Soon  afterwards,  gold  was  discovered  in  Montgomery 
County,  and  washings  were  carried  on,  on  a  small  scale,  for 
several  years  in  these  two  counties,  near  the  small  streams, 
and  nuggets  of  considerable  size  were  found ;  one  of  these, 
from  Cabarrus,  weighed  28  Ibs.  avoirdupois,  and  a  number  of 
others  from  4  to  16  Ibs.  This  was  at  the  Reed  mine,  and 
the  proprietor  estimated  that,  before  1830,  100  Ibs.  of  gold 


116  GOLD    WASHINGS    IN    NORTH    CAROLINA. 

had  been  obtained  in  pieces  of  over  a  pound  in  weight.  At 
a  mine  in  Montgomery,  a  number  of  pieces  over  one  pound 
in  weight  had  been  found  previous  to  1830  ;  one  weighed  4 
Ibs.  11  oz. ;  another,  3  Ibs.  In  Anson  County,  in  1829,  one 
piece  was  obtained  of  10  Ibs. ;  one  of  4  Ibs. ;  and  a  number 
of  smaller  ones.  The  first  native  gold  of  this  county  was 
coined  at  the  Mint  in  1825 ;  and,  up  to  1830,  four-fifths  of 
our  gold  coinage  was  from  native  metal.  There  had  been 
small  amounts  brought  to  the  Mint  previous  to  1824 ;  but 
from  that  time  the  quantity  increased  rapidly.  From  1804 
to  1827,  North  Carolina  had  furnished  all  the  gold  produced 
in  this  country,  amounting  to  $110,000.  In  1829,  §2,500  was 
deposited  from  Virginia,  and  $3,500  from  South  Carolina, 
the  first  which  found  its  way  from  these  states  to  the  Mint. 
In  1830,  the  first  deposit  of  Georgia  gold  took  place,  to  the 
amount  of  $212,000. 

Up  to  1825,  all  the  gold  procured  in  North  Carolina  was 
from  washings ;  about  that  time,  however,  the  gold-bearing 
rock  was  discovered  in  place  by  Mathias  Barringer,  of  Mont- 
gomery County,  who  obtained  from  an  excavation  30  to  40 
feet  long,  and  not  more  than  15  or  18  feet  deep,  over  15,000 
dwts.  of  gold.  This  discovery  turned  the  attention  of  those 
searching  for  the  precious  metal  from  the  "branch"  or  "  de- 
posit mines,"  as  they  were  called,  to  the  "vein  mines;"  and 
soon  after  Mr.  Barringer's  discovery  some  valuable  quartz- 
veins  were  found  in  Mecklenburg  County.  The  product  of 
these  was  so  great  as  to  excite  general  attention,  although 
they  were  worked  in  the  rudest  possible  manner,  and  in  con- 
sequence this  county  was  pretty  thoroughly  explored  and 
extensively  occupied  by  the  gold  miners.  The  developments 
here  were  followed  by  others  in  Guilford,  Cabarrus,  and 
Davidson  Counties. 

About  the  year  1824,  Prof.  Olmsted  made  a  geological 
reconnoisance  of  North  Carolina,  and  his  observations  on  the 
gold  region  of  that  state  are  published  in  Silliman's  Journal 
for  1825.*  At  the  time  of  his  survey,  no  other  than  the  de- 
posit mines  were  known  to  exist,  and  the  limits  of  the  gold- 
bearing  region  were  considered  by  him  to  embrace  an  area 

*  Vol.  ix.  p.  5. 


GOLD    IN    NORTH    CAROLINA.  117 

of  1000  square  miles,  included  in  a  circle,  whose  diameter 
would  be  about  thirty-six  miles,  and  whose  centre  was  near 
a  point  eight  miles  west  by  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Uwhare, 
and  including  a  great  part  of  Montgomery  County,  the 
northern  part  of  Anson,  the  northeastern  corner  of  Meck- 
lenburg, Cabarrus,  to  a  little  beyond  Concord  on  the  west, 
and  a  corner  of  Rowan  and  Randolph.  Of  this  region,  he 
says,  that  gold  may  be  found  in  almost  any  part  of  it  in 
greater  or  less  abundance.  Its  true  bed,  however,  was  con- 
sidered by  him  to  be  a  thin  stratum  of  gravel,  which,  in  low 
grounds,  was  covered  by  alluvium  to  the  depth  of  eight  feet ; 
but  when  no  cause  had  operated  to  alter  its  original  depth, 
it  was  about  three  feet  below  the  surface.  He  remarks  that 
the  gold  is  not  confined  to  the  beds  of  the  rivers,  but  is  found 
in  the  superficial  formations,  on  the  summit  of  elevations 
sometimes  100  or  200  feet  above  the  nearest  valleys. 

At  the  time  of  Prof.  Olmsted's  survey,  there  were  three 
principal  localities  where  washings  were  carried  on,  called 
Anson,  Reed's,  and  Parker's  mines.  At  Reed's,  where  the 
large  28  Ib.  lump  was  found,  the  diggings  occupied  the  bed 
of  Meadow  Creek,  a  branch  of  Rocky  River,  and  the  process 
by  which  the  gold  was  obtained  was  as  follows :  during  the 
dry  season,  the  workman  excavated  through  three  or  four 
feet  of  dark-colored  mud  full  of  angular  fragments,  until  he 
met  with  the  peculiar  bed  of  gravel  and  clay,  recognized  as 
the  gold-bearing  stratum.  This,  which  was  only  a  few  inches 
thick,  was  carefully  taken  up  with  the  spade  and  first  cradled, 
and  then  panned.  The  average  produce  per  hand,  at  Reed's 
mine,  was  only  sixty  cents  a  day.  According  to  C.  E.  Rothe,* 
in  1827  no  gold  washing  was  considered  worth  working 
which  did  not  yield  at  least  1  dwt.  per  day  for  each  hand 
employed.  At  that  time  the  rocker  was  universally  used 
for  separating  the  gold  from  the  sands.  It  was  generally 
considered  that  but  a  small  part  of  the  gold  found  its  way  to 
the  Mint;  it  was  mostly  worked  by  the  jewellers,  who  were 
anxious  to  get  it,  on  account  of  its  fineness  being  above  that 
of  coin. 

In  1829,  Prof.  Mitchell  published  a  map  of  the  gold  region 

*  Sill.  Am.  Jour.  xiii.  201. 


118  DISCOVERY    OF    GOLD    IN    GEORGIA. 

of  North  Carolina,*  on  which  are  noted  nine  different  mining 
localities,  three  of  which  are  included  by  him  in  the  "  pri- 
mary," and  the  remainder  in  the  "transition  or  slate." 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1829  that  the  first  discoveries 
were  made  in  Georgia ;  and  in  1830  the  first  gold  was  sent 
to  the  Mint,  to  the  amount,  in  that  year,  of  $212,000.  The 
first  locality  known  was  in  Hahersham  County,  and  very 
soon  the  explorations  were  extended  into  Hall  and  Carroll 
Counties.  The  excitement,  or  "gold-fever,"  produced  by 
these  discoveries  was  extraordinary.  As  many  as  six  or 
seven  thousand  persons  were,  soon  after,  engaged  in  wash- 
ing for  gold  in  that  region.  The  researches  were  carried  on, 
until  it  was  ascertained  that  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the 
state  lying  along  the  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge  was  more  or 
less  auriferous. 

South  Carolina  sent  to  the  mint,  in  1829,  $3,500 ;  this  was 
the  first  arrival  of  gold  from  that  state.  Deposits  were 
worked,  in  1830,  in  Chesterfield,  Lancaster,  and  Kershaw 
Districts.  Brewer's  mine,  in  Chesterfield,  was  one  of  the 
most  productive  localities,  there  being  from  100  to  200  per- 
sons employed  in  1830  and  1831,  who  were  supposed  to  ave- 
rage from  $1  50  to  $3  00  each  per  day. 

The  Georgia  gold  excitement  did  not  last  very  long ;  but 
there,  as  in  the  other  Southern  States  where  this  metal  was 
found,  gold-washing  continued  to  be  followed  by  the  majo- 
rity of  the  washers,  not  as  a  regular  pursuit,  but  as  one  to 
be  taken  up  and  dropped  again,  as  circumstances  directed. 
In  1831,  the  subject  of  establishing  a  Mint  in  the  gold  region 
was  agitated,  and,  as  each  state  claimed  one  as  necessary  to 
the  development  of  its  metallic  wealth,  three  were  at  length 
built,  and  commenced  operations  in  1838  ;  one  at  Charlotte, 
1ST.  C. ;  one  at  Dahlonega,  Ga. ;  and  a  third  at  New  Orleans, 
which  latter,  however,  had,  previously  to  the  California!! 
discoveries,  hardly  coined  any  bullion  of  native  production. 
The  production  of  gold  seems  to  have  reached  its  maximum 
in  the  period  from  1828  to  1845.  From  the  last-named  year 
it  was  evidently  falling  off  rapidly,  previous  to  1853. 

*  Sill.  Am.  Jour.  Science,  xvi.  1. 


GOLD    MINES    OF    VIRGINIA.  119 

In  1836,  Prof.  Silliman*  visited  the  gold  region  of  Virginia, 
and  from  him  we  have  an  account  of  what  was  doing  there 
at  that  time.  The  mines  examined  hy  him  were  principally 
in  Goochland,  Louisa,  and  Culpeper  Counties. 

Moss  and  Busby's  Mines,  Goochland  County,  are  about  fifty  miles  from 
Richmond.  At  Busby's  mine,  a  shaft  had  been  sunk  fifty-seven  feet,  and  a 
steam-engine  erected.  The  auriferous  quartz  is  coarsely  granular  in  texture, 
but  firm,  and  quite  free  from  any  foreign  substances  except  the  gold,  which  is 
mostly  invisible,  before  being  separated  from  it.  The  average  yield,  according 
to  experiments  made  under  Prof.  Silliman's  direction,  was  $8  16  per  bushel  of 
100  Ibs.  The  earth  around  the  mine  also  yields  a  considerable  quantity  of  gold. 

Moss's  Mine  is  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  Busby's.  At  the  surface,  the 
rock  is  entirely  decomposed  into  a  red  clay.  Inclination  of  the  bedding  of  the 
rock  and  included  quartz  masses,  45° ;  average  width  of  the  latter  about  twenty- 
four  inches.  The  quartz  breaks  readily  into  tabular  masses,  and  does  not 
adhere  to  the  adjacent  rock,  hence  it  is  easily  mined.  Average  yield,  $7  39 
per  bushel.  Average  yield  at  Fisher's  mine,  $3  15  per  bushel.  At  the  Wal- 
ton Mine,  $5  92.  This  mine  is  in  Louisa  County,  about  forty  miles  southwest 
of  Fredericksburg.  A  large  number  of  workings  exist  in  this  neighborhood. 
Some  of  the  ore  of  the  Walton  Mine  yielded  as  high  as  $133  73  per  bushel. 
Prof.  S.  remarks,  "  That  the  Walton  gold  mine,  and  many  others  in  Virginia, 
may  be  profitably  wrought,  admits  of  no  doubt — provided,  that  in  all  cases, 
good  judgment,  sound  economy,  competent  skill,  adequate  machinery,  and 
strict  fidelity,  combine  their  salutary  influence." 

The  Culpeper  Mine  is  situated  on  the  river  Rapidan,  eighteen  miles  west 
of  Fredericksburg.  At  the  time  of  Prof.  Silliman's  visit,  operations  were  com- 
mencing here  on  an  extensive  scale.  The  main  vein  is  said  by  him  to  be 
divided  into  a  number  of  parallel  branches,  in  which  the  gold  is  found  to  be 
more  abundant  than  when  they  unite  into  a  single  main  vein.  There  is  a 
large  quantity  of  iron  in  the  quartz,  mostly  decomposed  iron  pyrites.  The 
strata  stand  nearly  vertical,  and  have  a  direction  of  about  north  10°  east.  The 
results  of  a  number  of  trials  of  the  ore  gave,  as  an  average,  a  yield  of  $2  13 
to  the  bushel. 

The  following  remarks  by  Prof.  Silliman  deserve  to  be  read  with  attention 
by  all  interested  in  this  kind  of  property :  "  In  my  judgment,  nothing  could  be 
more  inauspicious  to  the  mining  interest  and  the  welfare  of  the  country,  than 
a  spirit  of  speculation  in  these  concerns.  In  an  excited  state  of  the  public 
mind,  it  is  rare  that  facts  are  correctly  reported,  or  correctly  viewed.  The 
speculator,  who  buys  merely  that  he  may  sell  again,  is,  too  frequently,  igno- 
rant of  the  facts,  and  reckless  of  the  consequences,  in  regard  to  those  who  may 
succeed  him  in  his  obligations  ;  flattering  gains  from  sales  of  stocks  are  re- 
ported from  day  to  day;  the  property  rapidly  changes  hands;  the  public 
mind,  being  morbidly  excited,  is  qf  course  blinded,  and,  at  no  distant  period, 
accumulated  ruin  falls  heavily  on  the  last  in  the  train." 


Sill.  Am.  Jour,  xxxii.  98. 


120       GOLD  MINES  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Professor  Tuomey's  State  Geological  Report  enables  us  to 
form  a  good  idea  of  the  state  of  the  gold  mining  interest  in 
South  Carolina  about  1848,  the  time  of  its  publication. 
Although  a  great  number  of  localities  were  worked,  and  called 
mines,  they  must  have  been  either  on  a  very  small  scale,  or 
else  worked  with  loss,  since  the  yearly  produce  of  the  state, 
at  that  time,  could  not  have  much  exceeded  $50,000.  The 
following  mines  are  noticed  as  the  most  important  ones  by 
M.  Tuomey. 

Brewer's  Mine,  Chesterfield  District.  A  bed  of  quartz  of  immense  thickness, 
800  yards  in  its  widest  part,  is  here  worked  and  found  to  be  more  or  less 
auriferous  throughout  its  whole  extent.  The  upper  part  of  this  bed  was  so 
disintegrated,  that  it  was  worked  for  some  time  under  the  impression  that  it 
formed  a  part  of  the  superficial  deposit  of  clay,  gravel,  and  pebbles,  which 
was  itself  rich  in  gold,  and  which  had  been  worked  from  1838  to  1843.  Two 
hundred  persons  were  employed  here  in  1848,  but  the  workings  were  conducted 
in  the  most  shiftless  manner.  Other  mines  were  worked  on  a  small  scale  in 
this  neighborhood. 

Catawba  and  Lynches  Creek  Mines,  Lancaster,  Chesterfield,  and  Kershaw 
Districts.  The  following  mines  are  enumerated  here :  Lawson's  Mine  (in 
North  Carolina,  near  the  line),  Ezell's  Mine,  Blackman's,  Hale's,  Cureton's, 
Belk's,  Perry's,  and  Stevens's. 

Lawson's  Mine  had  been  opened  over  a  space  of  one  mile  in  length,  and  in 
some  places,  to  a  depth  of  40  feet. 

Blackman's  Mine.  A  talcose  slate  furnishes  the  gold  here.  The  productive 
portions  are  enclosed  in  the  barren  in  lenticular  masses.  Very  extensive 
workings  have  been  made. 

Hale's  Mine  is  of  the  same  character.  The  mines  of  this  neighborhood  had 
been  steadily  worked  from  1828  up  to  1848.  They  are,  however,  but  little 
more  than  a  series  of  open  cuts  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  deep. 

Fair  Forest  Mines,  Spartanburg  and  Union  Districts.  Among  these  are 
Nott's,  Harman,  Fair  Forest,  West's,  and  Bogan  Mines. 

Notfs  Mine  is  opened  in  an  enormous  bed  of  quartz,  which  is  in  some 
places  forty  feet  thick.  This  is  considered  by  M.  Tuomey  to  be  a  true  vein, 
and  to  cross  the  slates  at  a  small  angle.  A  large  quantity  of  ore  has  been 
taken  out  from  an  open  cut  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  deep.  A  perpendicular  shaft 
ninety  feet  deep  was  sunk,  and  connected  with  the  vein  by  a  short  cross-cut. 
Three  thousand  dwts.  of  gold  were  taken  from  eleven  bushels  of  decomposed 
ferruginous  matter. 

Harman' s  Mine.  Copper  pyrites  is  said  to  form  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
quartz  bed  worked  here. 

Fair  Forest  and  West's  Mines.  These  are  in  talcose  and  micaceous  slates, 
which  are  decomposed  to  a  depth  of  from  90  to  100  feet.  Below  that  point 


THE    APPALACHIAN    GOLD-FIELDS.  121 

they  cease  to  be  worked  with  profit.  At  West's  Mine  a  shaft  115  feet  deep 
was,  in  1 848,  the  deepest  mine-work  in  the  State. 

The  Bogan  Mine  belongs  to  this  group,  and  has  the  same  characters. 

King's  Creek  Mine;  Nuckols  and  Non-is  Mine;  Lockharfs  Mine.  These 
are  considered  by  Tuomey  as  being  true  vein-mines.  They  have  been  worked 
only  to  a  trifling  extent. 

Having  thus  noticed  with  sufficient  detail  what  had  been 
done  during  the  earlier  periods  of  working  the  Southern 
gold  mines,  an  attempt  will  he  made  to  give  a  more  con- 
nected and  complete  account  of  the  present  state  and  pros- 
pects of  the  Appalachian  auriferous  district,  under  which 
name  it  is  intended  to  include  all  the  gold  deposits  of  the 
eastern  side  of  the  North  American  continent,  from  Canada 
to  Georgia.  As  discovery  after  discovery  has  been  made, 
the  limits  of  the  gold  region  have  been  extended  far  to  the 
north,  although  it  is  not  yet  demonstrated  that  any  deposits 
of  sufficient  extent  and  richness  to  be  profitably  worked  exist 
north  of  Virginia,  the  results  thus  far  showing  pretty  con- 
clusively that  the  greatest  concentration  of  the  gold  is  in  the 
State  of  North  Carolina.  Throughout  the  whole  of  this 
extensive  region,  the  circumstances  under  which  this  metal 
occurs  seem  to  be  nearly  identical,  the  modifications  in  the 
form  of  the  deposits  being  due  to  local  causes.  The  geolo- 
gical structure  is  the  same  from  one  extreme  to  the  other. 

The  Appalachian  chain  takes  its  origin  in  Canada,  south- 
east of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  forms  a  broad  belt  of  mountain 
ridges,  extending  in  a  southwesterly  direction  to  Alabama. 
The  entire  length  of  the  chain  is  about  1300  miles;  its 
breadth  is  variable,  gradually  expanding  towards  its  centre, 
and  contracting  at  each  extremity.  The  most  striking  feature 
of  this  mountain  system  is  the  fact  that  it  is  made  up  of  a 
series  of  parallel  ridges,  very  numerous,  especially  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia,  no  one  of  which  can  be  considered  as 
being  the  main  or  central  chain  to  which  the  others  are  sub- 
ordinate, but  the  whole  forming  a  system  of  flexures  which 
gradually  open  out  from  the  southeast  to  the  northwest,  as 
has  been  made  evident  from  the  results  of  the  geological 
surveys  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  under  the  direction  of 
Professors  II.  D.  and  W.  B.  Eogers.  Along  the  southeastern 


122      LIMITS    OF    THE    APPALACHIAN    GOLD-FIELD. 

edge  of  this  great  Appalachian  system  is  a  relatively  narrow, 
undulating  range,  known  under  different  names  in  the  diffe- 
rent States.  In  Vermont  it  is  called  the  Green  Mountains : 
in  New  York,  the  Highlands ;  in  Pennsylvania,  the  South 
Mountains ;  in  Virginia,  the  Blue  Ridge ;  in  North  Carolina, 
the  Smoky  Mountains.  The  rocks  of  this  belt,  which  has  a 
width  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  are  of  the  lower  palaeozoic  age, 
but  highly  metamorphosed,  and,  for  the  most  part,  having 
their  organic  remains  entirely  obliterated.  Still  farther  to 
the  southeast  lies  the  great  auriferous  belt,  nearly  parallel 
with  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  not  easily  separated  from  it  in 
geological  age,  either  lithologically  or  by  palseontological 
characters.  The  central  axis  of  this  belt  has  a  direction  in 
Virginia  of  about  north  32°  east ;  towards  the  north  it  assumes 
a  more  nearly  north  and  south  direction,  and  to  the  south  it 
approaches  an  east  and  west  line.  Its  width,  where  most 
developed,  does  not  exceed  seventy  miles.  This  is  about  its 
extent  on  the  borders  of  North  and  South  Carolina.  In 
Virginia  it  does  not  exceed  fifteen  miles.  Starting  from 
Georgia,  and  proceeding  northward,  we  find  it  developed  in 
the  following  counties :  in  Georgia,  in  Carroll,  Cobb,  Chero- 
kee, Lumpkin,  and  Habersham  Counties ;  in  South  Carolina, 
through  the  whole  northwestern  corner  of  the  state,  espe- 
cially in  the  following  districts :  Abbeville,  Pickens,  Spar- 
tanburg,  Union,  York,  Lancaster;  in  North  Carolina,  in 
Mecklenburg,  Rutherford,  Cabarrus,  Rowan,  Davidson,  Guild- 
ford,  and  Rockingham ;  thence,  through  Virginia,  in  Pittsyl- 
vania,  Campbell,  Buckingham,  Fluvanna,  Louisa,  Spottsyl- 
vania,  Orange,  Culpeper,  Fauquier;  in  Maryland,  Mont- 
gomery County.  Beyond  Maryland,  to  the  north,  the  indi- 
cations become  fainter,  and  consist  only  in  a  few  scattered 
lumps  or  fine  scales  occasionally  picked  up,  until  \ve  reach 
Canada,  where  there  is  a  considerable  extent  proved  to  be 
auriferous. 

Throughout  this  whole  extent,  the  auriferous  belt  presents 
rocks  of  nearly  the  same  character  ;  they  are  slates  of  every 
variety,  intermixed  with  bands  of  a  granite  and  syenitic  cha- 
racter. The  predominating  kind  of  slate  is  talcose,  passing 
into  chloritic  and  argillaceous.  The  prevailing  dip  is  to  the 


CANADA  —  VERMONT.  123 

east  at  a  very  high  angle.     In  Virginia,  they  stand  nearly 
vertical. 

CANADA. — The  auriferous  district  of  Canada,  according  to 
Logan,*  is  found  to  comprehend  an  area  of  between  3000 
and  4000  square  miles.  It  appears  to  occupy  nearly  the 
whole  of  that  part  of  the  province  which  lies  on  the  south- 
east side  of  the  prolongation  of  the  Green  Mountains  into 
Canada,  and  extends  to  the  boundary  between  the  colony 
and  the  United  States.  The  gold  has  been  obtained  exclu- 
sively from  washing  the  superficial  deposits,  and  is  not 
known  to  have  been  found  in  place.  The  deposit  in  which 
it  occurs  is  considered  by  Mr.  Logan  to  be  part  of  the  an- 
cient drift,  the  "Laurentian"  of  Desor,  alluded  to  in  various 
reports  of  the  Canada  survey  as  "tertiary"  and  "post-ter- 
tiary," and  containing  bones  and  shells  of  animals  of  existing 
species.  In  the  localities  where  the  gold  occurs,  the  coarse 
materials  of  the  drift  are  chiefly  fragments  and  rolled  pebbles 
of  the  clay-slates  and  gray  sandstones  on  which  it  rests  ;  but 
it  contains  also  pebbles  and  boulders  of  talcose  slate  and  ser- 
pentine, with  magnetic,  specular,  chromic,  and  titaniferous 
iron,  and  masses  of  white  quartz,  which  are  derived  from  the 
mountain-range  bounding  the  district  on  the  northwest. 

Gold-washings  have  been  carried  on,  on  the  Du  Loup  and 
Chaudiere  Rivers,  and  about  1900  dwts.  were  obtained  during 
the  season  of  1851-52,  by  fifteen  men.  The  largest  nugget 
weighed  2  oz.  On  the  Touffe  des  Pins,  lumps  of  greater 
size  were  found ;  one  weighed  as  much  as  4  oz.  The  results, 
thus  far,  have  not  been  very  satisfactory,  as  far  as  profitable 
working  is  concerned,  although  it  is  demonstrated  that  the 
precious  metal  does  occur  over  a  very  considerable  extent  of 
surface. 

VERMONT. — Gold  has  been  known  to  exist  in  Vermont  for 
twenty-five  years.  I  have  had  specimens  of  native  grains 
from  that  State  in  my  possession  for  a  long  time.  Accord- 
ing to  Eev.  Z.  Thompson, f  a  lump  was  picked  up  in  New- 
fane,  in  1826,  which  weighed  8J  ozs.  It  was  pure  gold, 
with  exception  of  some  small  quartz  crystals  attached  to  it, 

*  Geological  Survey  of  Canada.  Report  of  Progress,  1850-51,  p.  G. 
f  Appendix  to  Thompson's  Vermont,  p.  48. 


124  GOLD    IN    MARYLAND  —  VIRGINIA. 

weighing  perhaps  half  an  ounce.  The  specific  gravity  was 
16-5.  The  gold-formation  of  this  state  forms,  according  to 
the  same  authority,  a  narrow  and  irregular  belt  extending 
through  the  entire  length  of  the  state.  The  rocks  which 
mark  the  line  of  the  formation  are  talcose  slate,  steatite,  and 
serpentine,  accompanied  by  magnetic,  specular,  chromic,  and 
titaniferous  iron,  and  also  the  sulphuret  and  the  hydrous  per- 
oxide of  the  same  metal.  Rock-crystal  is  common,  and  is 
sometimes  traversed  by  rutile. 

At  Bridgewater,  the  gold  occurs  in  quartz  associated  with 
the  sulphurets  of  iron,  copper,  and  lead.  The  quartz  is  in 
seams  or  beds,  dipping  55°  to  the  east,  and  of  irregular 
thickness,  not  exceeding  ten  or  twenty  inches.  The  quan- 
tity obtained  here  seems  to  have  been  very  small. 

There  do  not  seem  to  be  any  well-authenticated  accounts 
of  native  gold  between  Vermont  and  Maryland.  A  sys- 
tematic search  along  the  line  of  the  proper  formation  might 
reveal  its  presence,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it 
would  be  found  in  any  considerable  quantity.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  occurrence  of  a  single  grain  has  been  noticed,* 
but  of  uncertain  locality,  and  under  circumstances  which 
render  it  doubtful  whether  it  was  a  genuine  specimen  01 
native  gold.  According  to  F.  A.  Genth,  however,  the  lead 
and  copper  ores  of  Lancaster  County  contain  distinct  traces 
of  both  gold  and  platina. 

MARYLAND.  —  Although  gold  has  been  found  to  some 
extent  in  Maryland,  the  amount  produced  seems  to  have 
been,  thus  far,  very  trifling.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  mines 
of  this  metal  worked  in  that  state  at  present.  It  has  been 
discovered  on  the  farm  of  Samuel  Elliot,  in  Montgomery 
County,  f  The  quartz,  which  forms  the  gangue,  crops  out 
amidst  a  decomposed  talcose  slate,  so  that  it  is  easily  mined. 
The  average  yield  of  a  portion  assayed  at  the  Mint  is  said 
to  have  been  at  the  rate  of  $522  per  ton. 

VIRGINIA. — The  product  of  the  Virginia  gold  mines  has 
been  small  and  pretty  constant,  from  1830  up  to  the  present 
time,  the  amount  annually  deposited  at  the  Mint  being 

*  C.  M.  Wetherill,  Trans.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.  N.  S.  x.  350. 
t  Proc.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.  1849,  p.  85. 


VIRGINIA    GOLD    MINES.  125 

between  $50,000  and  $100,000.  Within  the  last  year  or  two, 
however,  mining  has  been  commenced,  on  a  considerably 
extended  scale,  at  a  number  of  localities,  the  result  of  which 
will  soon  determine  whether  the  auriferous  quartz  is  suffi- 
ciently rich  to  be  worked  with  profit.  The  general  physical 
and  geological  features  of  the  auriferous  belt  of  this  state 
have  been  elaborately  described  by  Clemson  and  R.  C. 
Taylor,*  and  also  by  W.  B.  Rogers,  State  Geologist.  The 
talcose  slates,  which  predominate  in  the  gold  districts,  have 
a  reddish  color,  and  are  finely  laminated,  their  general  strike 
being  from  29°  to  32°  east  of  north.  The  lamince  stand 
nearly  vertically,  and  contain  intercalated  masses  of  syenitic 
granite  and  protogine.  The  breadth  of  the  auriferous  belt  is 
about  fifteen  miles.  For  some  depth  these  rocks  are  entirely 
decomposed,"  so  as  to  be  easily  worked  with  the  pick  and 
shovel.  The  matrix  of  the  gold  is  invariably  quartz,  which, 
near  the  surface,  usually  has  a  cellular  structure,  resulting 
from  the  decomposition  and  removal  of  the  iron  pyrites  with 
which  it  was  filled. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  "W.  B.  Rogers,  that  many  of  these 
quartz  veins  might  be  worked  with  profit.  In  1836,  accord- 
ing to  his  authority,  numerous  quartz  veins  had  been 
wrought  for  some  time  in  Spottsylvania,  Orange,  Louisa, 
Fluvanna,  and  Buckingham  Counties,  from  many  of  which 
rich  returns  had  been  procured,  and,  under  improved  modes 
of  operation,  a  still  larger  profit  might  be  expected. 

At  the  present  time,  the  following  companies  are  known 
to  be  working  on  a  somewhat  enlarged  scale;  the  results  of 
their  operations,  however,  are  not  usually  made  public ;  and, 
indeed,  but  few  of  them  have  yet  been  got  fully  under  way. 
Several  English  companies  have  purchased  some  of  the  most 
promising  gold  mines  in  the  State,  and  have  recently  com- 
menced working  them,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  they 
will  thoroughly  test  the  question  of  their  permanent  pro- 
ductiveness. 

Culpeper  Mine,  on  the  Rapidan  River,  seventeen  miles  from  Fredericks- 

*  Trans.  Geol.  Soc.  Pa.  i.  298. 

t  Report  of  the  Geol.  Recormoissance  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  1836,  p.  67. 


126        GOLD    MINES    NOW    WORKED    IN    VIRGINIA. 

burg.  In  1850,  working  twelve  stamp-heads  and  two  Chilian  mills,  with 
twenty -four  men.  Weekly  expenses  estimated  at  $120.  Produce  in  seven 
weeks,  3,400  dwts. 

Freehold  Gold  Mining  Company,  Orange  County.  This  is  an  English 
company,  formed  in  1853,  after  examination  of  the  property  by  Mr.  Henwood. 
One  vein,  of  twenty  feet  in  width,  is  said  to  have  been  opened,  and  traced  for 
a  mile  and  a  half. 

Liberty  Mining  Company.  (100,000  shares  at  £1.)  This  is  an  English 
Company,  which  has  purchased  the  Vaucluse  and  Gryme's  Mines,  for  which 
£50,000  was  paid.  The  average  yield  of  the  ore  is  estimated  at  $8  per  ton. 
Six  shafts  have  been  sunk,  and  preparations  made  for  working  a  large  quan- 
tity of  ore.  According  to  the  Directors'  report,  made  Sept.  30th,  1853,  the 
amount  of  gold  produced  during  the  year,  the  mill  running  eighty  days,  was 
556  oz.  G  dwts.,  of  a  fineness  of  943£  thousandths.  In  December,  1853,  the 
stamps  were  crushing  50  tons  per  clay. 

The  vein  or  lode  worked  consists  of  five  parallel  bands  of  quartz,  all  bear- 
ing gold.  Hydrated  oxide  of  iron  is  the  principal  associated  mineral,  and  the 
enclosing  rocks  are  talco-micaceous  slates.  Previous  to  1852,  the  mine  had 
been  worked  in  two  open  cuts,  to  the  depth  of  60  feet,  75  feet  wide,  and  120 
feet  long.  From  a  description  of  these  mines,  published  in  1848,  the  follow- 
ing information  is  extracted. 

The  Vaucluse  Mine  is  situated  in  Orange  County,  a  mile  south  of  the 
Rapidan  River,  about  seventeen  miles  from  Fredericksburg.  It  was  discovered 
in  1832,  and,  for  a  number  of  years,  worked  as  a  deposit  mine,  before  any 
veins  were  discovered.  There  are  numerous  veins  now  known  which  are  con- 
tained in  talcose  and  other  slates.  The  gold  is  contained  in  quartz,  and  in 
the  adjoining  slates,  which  are  much  mixed  with  decomposed  iron  pyrites. 
Sometimes  the  auriferous  belt  widens  out  to  30  or  40  feet.  The  present 
establishment  was  commenced  in  1844  by  an  English  Company,  and  extensive 
works  were  erected.  A  Cornish  engine,  of  120  horse  power,  was  connected 
with  six  Chilian  mills,  and  six  batteries  of  stamps,  of  three  stamp-heads  each. 
The  finer  ores  are  ground  in  the  Chilian  mills,  and  the  harder  quartz  rock  is 
stamped.  The  amalgamation  is  effected  by  the  "  amalgamating  bowls."  The 
quantity  of  mercury  annually  consumed  is  stated  at  from  250  to  300  Ibs.  The 
amount  of  gold  produced,  however,  is  not  given,  nor  the  quantity  of  ore  ground 
and  stamped.  The  gold  obtained  is  very  fine,  being  from  '985  to  "990. 

Gardiner  Gold  Mining  Company,  Spottsylvania  County.  Situated  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Rappahannock  and  Rapidan  Rivers  ;  but  little  work  has  ever  been 
done  here.  A  steam-engine  is  now  erecting,  intended  to  drive  two  of  Gardi- 
ner's gold-crushing  machines,  which  are  estimated  to  crush  and  amalgamate 
100  tons  of  rock  per  day,  the  expense  being  $3,  and  the  yield  of  gold  $12  50 
per  ton. 

Marshall  Mine,  Spottsylvania  County,  on  the  Rappahannock  River,  twelve 
miles  from  Fredericksburg.  This  mine  is  said  to  be  paying  well.  It  is  stated 
that  $300,000  has  been  obtained  up  to  this  time,  twenty  hands  being  employed, 
and  the  depth  of  the  workings  being  100  feet. 

Whitehall  Mine,  Spottsylvania  County.     According  to  Mr.  Henwood,  this 


VIRGINIA    MINES.  127 

mine  is  worked  in  a  deep-blue  clay  slate,  the  veins  bearing  about  southeast 
and  northwest.  Their  principal  veinstone  is  a  hard,  white  quartz,  sometimes 
marked  with  ferruginous  stains.  Occasionally  they  enclose  large  masses  of 
slate.  The  gold  is  for  the  most  part  scantily,  but  pretty  uniformly,  scattered 
through  the  vein,  perhaps  more  plentifully  in  the  iron-tinged  parts  than  else- 
where ;  and  where  the  quartz  is  somewhat  drusy,  it  has  a  tendency  to  a  crystal- 
line structure. 

Native  tellurium  has  been  found  here,  according  to  Mr.  Kenwood,*  dissemi- 
nated through  the  quartz,  like  the  gold,  but  in  smaller  quantity.  Galena  also 
occurs  with  these  metals  ;  and  the  association  of  ore  in  this  part  of  the  Virginia 
gold  region  is  said  by  the  same  authority  to  resemble  that  of  the  Morro  de  San 
Vincente,  in  the  province  of  Minas  Geraes,  Brazil.  A  telluret  of  bismuth,  con- 
taining selenium,  has  also  been  described  by  Mr.  C.  Fisher,  Jr.,f  as  occurring 
at  this  mine. 

Waller  Gold  Mining  Company.  This  mine  is  situated  in  Goochland  County, 
nine  miles  from  Columbia,  and  was  taken  up  by  an  English  company  in  1853, 
under  the  advice  of  Professor  Ansted,  who  recently  examined  and  reported  on 
it.  According  to  that  gentleman's  statements,  it  appears  that  the  property  is 
traversed  by  the  great  auriferous  belt  of  Virginia,  which  is  made  up  of  various 
schists  and  alternations  of  shale  and  quartz  rock,  more  or  less  compact  and 
crystalline.  Some  of  the  quartzite  is  hyaline  and  micaceous,  and  almost  all 
the  rocks  are  colored  by  oxide  of  iron.  Distinct  indications  of  gold  have  been 
found  disseminated  through  the  shales  and  quartz  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
property  in  which  the  experiment  of  panning  has  been  tried,  and  especially 
near  the  veins,  which  have  been  proved  to  the  depth  of  from  five  to  thirty  feet. 
The  results  are  stated  as  having  been  very  variable,  and  are  not  given ;  but 
they  are  reported  as  sufficiently  encouraging  to  justify  the  recommendation 
that  the  mine  should  be  opened  and  proved  by  working  it  to  a  considerable 
depth. 

The  estimated  yield  of  the  ore  is  £4  per  ton.  In  October,  1853,  the  Com- 
pany was  erecting  buildings  and  machinery  preparatory  to  working  the  mine 
on  an  extensive  scale. 

Garnett  and  Moseley  Mines,  Buckingham  County.  These  mines  were  pur- 
chased by  an  English  company,  some  time  since,  and  are  now  among  the  most 
extensively  worked  in  Virginia.  Three  steam-engines,  of  from  thirty  to  sixty 
horse  power,  have  been  erected,  by  which  seventy-two  stamps  and  other  machi- 
nery are  driven.  At  the  time  the  present  Company  came  into  possession, 
several  shafts  had  been  sunk,  the  deepest  of  which  was  110  feet,  at  which  point 
the  vein  is  said  to  be  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  to  be  worth  $20  per  ton.  These 
mines  were  taken  up  on  the  recommendation  of  Professor  Ansted,  who  is  said 
to  have  reported  very  favorably  on  their  prospects.  According  to  Mr.  A.  Partz,$ 
there  are  five  or  six  veins  on  the  property,  two  of  which  are  worked.  The 
principal  one  has  a  course  of  north  35°  east,  and  dips  40°  to  the  southeast ;  and 
the  other  runs  in  nearly  the  same  direction,  and  dips  so  as  to  unite  with  the 
first.  About  forty  miners  are  employed,  and  sixty  surface-hands. 


Eng.  Mining  Journal,  No.  956.  t  Sill.  Am.  Jour.  (2)  vii.  282. 

Mining  Magazine,  ii.  378. 


128  GOLD    MINES    WORKED    IN    VIRGINIA. 

London  and  Virginia  Gold  and  Copper  Mining  Company.  This  Company 
was  formed  in  London  and  incorporated  in  Virginia  in  1853,  for  the  purpose 
of  purchasing  and  working  the  Eldridge  Mine,  in  Buckingham  County,  near 
the  Garnett  and  Moseley  Mines.  Operations  have  as  yet  hardly  been  com- 
menced. The  assays  of  the  ore  gave  from  1J  to  If  oz.  of  gold  to  the  2000  Ibs. 

Buckingham  Gold  Company.  This  Company  was  also  organized  in  1853, 
to  work  a  mine  on  the  same  vein  as  the  one  last-mentioned.  According  to  Mr. 
Partz,*  the  vein  has  a  course  of  north  25°  east,  and  dips  to  the  northwest  75°. 
A  steam-engine  of  forty  horse  power  is  erecting,  and  a  set  of  twenty-four  stamps. 
The  main  shaft  is  to  be  sunk  to  the  depth  of  two  hundred  feet. 

The  following  description  of  the  Buckingham  Mines  is  given  by  W.  J.  Hen- 
wood,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.,  &c.f  "  They  are  situated  near  Maysville,  in  Buckingham 
County.  In  this  neighborhood  the  lowest  visible  member  of  the  series  is  a 
homogeneous,  lead-colored  clay  slate,  rather  fissile,  and  somewhat  contorted, 
which  is  succeeded  by  white  quartzose  mica  slate,  closely  resembling  the  itaco- 
lumite  of  Brazil,  but  of  no  great  thickness.  The  gold  formation  follows,  and  is 
overlaid  by  a  thin-bedded,  pale  greenish-white  talcose  slate,  which  is  the  upper 
part  of  the  deposit.  The  strike  of  all  these  beds  is  about  (true)  northeast  and 
southwest,  and  their  dip  is  40°  or  50°  towards  southeast.  The  auriferous  de- 
posit has  been  wrought  to  a  depth  of  about  twenty-six  fathoms  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  mines  ;  it  varies  in  width  from  three  to  twenty  feet,  and  the 
shallower  portions  consist  for  the  most  part  of  quartz,  sometimes  vesicular, 
sometimes  granular,  always  very  slightly  coherent,  generally  much  mixed  with 
earthy,  brown  iron  ore  ;  irregularly  dispersed  through  the  silicious  ingredients 
are  masses  of  iron  pyrites,  copper  pyrites,  frequently  invested  with  earthy,  black 
copper  ore,  and  vitreous  copper  ore ;  galena,  and  the  phosphate  of  lead,  occur 
in  like  manner,  although  in  much  smaller  quantities  ;  arid  in  the  cellular  cavi- 
ties of  the  quartz  there  are  numerous  little  grains  of  gold,  of  which  some  pre- 
sent crystalline  forms.  In  the  southwestern  extremity  of  the  mines,  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  gold-bearing  rock  are  both  smaller  and  more  regular  than  in  the 
opposite,  averaging  from  four  to  five  feet  in  thickness  ;  its  composition  is  much 
more  exclusively  quartzose,  and  it  includes  masses  (horses)  of  the  adjoining 
micaceous  and  talcose  rocks  ;  its  metallic  contents  are  of  much  the  same  nature 
as  those  found  at  the  other  end  of  the  mine,  but  their  quantities  are  much 
smaller.  Throughout  the  mines,  in  descending,  the  other  ingredients  of  this  for- 
mation, as  well  earthy  as  metallic,  gradually  give  place  to  iron  pyrites,  which 
at  length  constitutes  the  entire  body  of  the  rock.  The  whole  formation  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  Morro  Velho,  in  Brazil,  except  that  it  is  much  more  exclu- 
sively pyritous  and  softer.  Gold  and  copper  are  not  frequently  found  together, 
although  copper  pyrites  is  occasionally  found  among  the  auriferous  pyrites  of 
Morro  Velho,  and  also  near  Dolgelly,  in  Merionethshire.  Tellurium  is  asso- 
ciated with  gold  in  many  parts  of  Virginia,  and  there,  as  well  as  in  Brazil,  the 
gold  thus  associated  is  of  excellent  quality.  The  Garnett  and  Moseley,  Waller 
and  Whitehall  Mines,  are  mentioned  as  localities  of  this  rare  substance." 


*  Mining  Magazine,  ii.  379.  f  E.  M.  J.  Jan.  29,  1853. 


GOLD    MINES    IN    NORTH    CAROLINA.  129 

In  Fluvanna  County,  Commodore  Stockton  is  well  known 
to  have  been  for  some  years  engaged  in  working  gold  mines, 
and  experimenting  on  gold-crushing  and  amalgamating  ma- 
chinery. No  authentic  account  of  these  operations  has  been 
published. 

At  the  so-called  "  Tellurium  mine"  an  ore,  considered  by 
Dr.  Genth  a  telluret  of  bismuth,  has  been  found,  and  has 
given  a  name  to  the  locality. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. — Judging  from  the  returns  of  gold 
hitherto  furnished  by  this  state,  as  well  as  from  a  personal 
examination  of  a  portion  of  the  gold  district,  I  am  inclined 
to  consider  the  chances  of  successful  mining  as  greater  here 
than  in  any  other  of  the  Atlantic  States.  Several  companies 
have  been  recently  organized,  nominally  for  the  purpose  of 
more  energetically  and  systematically  testing  the  value  of 
some  of  the  mines  best  known  in  the  state,  but  with  regard 
to  some  of  them  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  far  they  are  bona 
fide,  and  how  far  mere  speculative  concerns. 

Gold  Hill  Mines.  These  are  the  most  extensive  gold  mines  in  the  Atlantic 
States,  and  are  supposed  to  have  yielded  more  than  any  others.  They  are 
situated  in  Rowan  County,  thirty-eight  miles  northeast  of  Charlotte,  and  four- 
teen from  Salisbury.  There  were,  formerly,  a  great  number  of  different  parties 
owning  and  working  the  Gold  Hill  veins  ;  but,  during  the  year  1853,  it  is  under- 
stood tfhat  the  property  was  purchased  by  a  New  York  Company,  with  a  nominal 
capital  of  $1,000,000,  divided  into  200,000  shares.  According  to  a  report  of 
Dr.  Asbury,  of  Charlotte,  the  greatest  depth  to  which  the  mines  had  been 
worked,  at  the  time  this  Company  took  possession,  was  340  feet ;  and  the  quartz 
is  said  to  be  wider  at  that  depth,  as  well  as  richer  in  gold,  than  on  the  surface. 
According  to  the  same  authority,  these  mines  have  yielded  $1,500,000  since 
1843:  the  expense  of  raising  it  is  not  stated.  The  average  yield  is  said  to 
have  been  $1  50  per  bushel,  although  a  considerable  portion  of  the  gold  re- 
mained in  the  tailings.  These  were  purchased  some  time  since,  in  order  to  be 
reworked  by  Berdan's  machine ;  but  the  results  of  this  operation  have  not  as 
yet  been  made  public.  This  mine  is  said  to  be  paying  regular  dividends. 

McCullock  Copper  and  Gold  Mining  Company.  This  mine  is  situated  about 
twelve  miles  from  Greensboro,  Guildford  County.'  The  vein,  which  crosses 
the  tract  diagonally,  has  a  length  on  it  of  about  half  a  mile  and  had  been 
worked  over  a  length  of  about  1600  feet,  before  the  present  Company  entered 
into  possession,  in  June  1853.  The  deepest  shaft  at  that  time  was  ninety  feet 
perpendicular  ;  but  the  principal  workings  were  from  the  bottom  of  the  sixty- 
feet  level  upwards.  The  inclination  of  the  vein  to  the  horizon  varies  from  24° 
to  30°  to  the  eastward ;  but  at  the  lowest  level,  the  dip  is  somewhat  more  nearly 

9 


130       GOLD  MINES  IN  NOKTH  CAROLINA. 

vertical  than  it  is  above.  Its  average  width  is  about  six  feet.  The  wall-rock 
is  slate,  talcose  and  micaceous.  The  principal  portion  of  the  vein  is  quartz, 
both  compact  and  cellular ;  its  metallic  contents  are  gold,  iron  pyrites,  copper 
pyrites,  and  carbonate  and  oxide  of  iron.  The  richest  ore  is  a  soft,  ferruginous 
mass,  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  spathic  iron  apparently.  This  mass 
lies  on  the  foot-wall  of  the  vein  principally,  and  is  variable  in  width  and  thick- 
ness, forming  irregular  bunches. 

The  auriferous  portion  varies  from  one  to  several  feet  in  thickness.  In  the 
sixty-feet  level,  a  thick  belt  of  undecomposed  iron  pyrites  rests  upon  it ;  and  upon 
that  is  a  mass  of  quartz,  in  which  are  disseminated  bunches  and  masses  of  pure 
copper  pyrites,  in  some  places  in  considerable  quantity.  This  ore  is  generally 
accumulated  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  quartz.  The  workings  were  chiefly 
above  the  sixty-feet  level,  which  had  been  driven  about  1200  feet;  the  ninety- 
feet  level  had  been  extended  about  300.  Between  these  two  levels  there  was  a 
considerable  amount  of  rich  ore  left  standing.  Eight  shafts  have  been  sunk ; 
and  the  facility  with  which  this  kind  of  work  can  be  executed  in  the  soft  decom- 
posed rock,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  one  of  these  was  sunk  to  the  depth  of 
sixty  feet,  and  timbered  up  in  one  week.  There  are  peculiar  facilities  in  work- 
ing this  mine,  since  the  decomposition  has  extended  to  an  unusual  depth,  and 
the  decomposed  portion  of  the  vein  lying  on  the  foot- wall  can  be  removed 
without  blasting,  and  then  the  solid  part  above  can  be  thrown  down  with  little 
trouble  or  expense.  About  $31,000  of  gold  was  said  to  have  been  taken  out, 
in  1852,  at  an  expense  of  $500  a  month.  The  crushing  and  amalgamating 
machinery  consisted  of  two  Chilian  mills,  combined  with  the  Sullivan  bowls, 
and  apparently  much  better  and  more  economically  arranged  than  is  usual  in 
the  Southern  gold  mines  j  but,  unfortunately,  two  miles  distant  from  the  mine. 

The  present  Company  is  said  to  have  twenty-five  head  of  stamps  and  seven 
Chilian  mills  in  operation,  which  number  will  be  increased  to  ten.  No  reports 
of  the  quantity  of  gold  obtained  have  been  made  public. 

The  stock  is  divided  into  200,000  shares,  at  a  nominal  par  value  of  $5,  = 
$1,000,000  capital. 

The  mines,  with  machinery  as  purchased,  cost  $135,000. 

Conrad  Hill  Mining  Company,  Davidson  County,  about  six  miles  from 
Lexington.  The  property  belonging  to  Governor  Morehead  is  that  properly 
known  under  the  name  of  the  Conrad  Hill  Mine  5  but  a  Company,  formed  on 
the  adjacent  lands,  has  taken  the  same  name.  According  to  Dr.  Genth,  there 
are  six  veins  on  the  Morehead  estate,  which  consist,  as  usual,  of  quartz,  ac- 
companied by  a  large  amount  of  the  hydrated  oxide  of  fron,  together  with  the 
specular  and  spathic  ore.  Near  the  water  level  considerable  copper  pyrites 
has  been  found  with  these  ores.  In  some  parts  of  the  mine  there  are  bodies  of 
ore  of  four  feet  in  width,  worth  $2  per  hundred  pounds. 

On  the  property  of  the  "  Conrad  Hill  Mining  Company/'  into  which  the 
same  veins,  in  part,  extend,  I  observed,  in  April,  1853,  two  shafts,  one  of 
which  was  said  to  be  115  and  the  other  100  feet  deep,  both  well  timbered  up. 
The  mine  was  at  that  time  filled  with  water.  In  the  rubbish  about  the 
mine,  considerable  spathic  iron  and  copper  pyrites  was  noticed. 

Vanderburg  Mining  Company,  Cabarrus  County,  twenty-two  miles  from 
Charlotte,  adjoining  the  Phoenix  Mine.  Company  organized  in  1853.  Ac- 


GOLD  MINES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.       131 

cording  to  J.  T.  Hodge,  Esq.,  the  rock  formation  is  greenstone,  which  is 
traversed  by  several  veins,  with  a  course  of  north  50°  to  65°  east.  One  of  these 
has  been  worked  to  a  depth  of  100  feet,  and  found  to  have  a  thickness  of  from 
a  few  inches  to  3£  feet.  Besides  rich  bunches  of  ore,  a  large  quantity  has 
been  mined  yielding  about  $2  per  bushel.  Considerable  copper  pyrites  is 
mixed  with  the  veinstone.  The  property  is  considered,  by  Mr.  Hodge,  to  be 
of  great  value,  both  for  gold  and  copper. 

Phoenix  Gold  Mining  Company,  Cabarrus  County.  From  the  report  of  the 
agent  of  the  mine,  it  appears  that  there  are  several  estates  owned  by  the  Com- 
pany, of  which  the  principal  is  the  "  Conner  tract,"  so  called,  on  which  are 
three  veins,  on  one  of  which,  the  "  Sulphur  Vein,"  workings  have  been  carried 
down  to  the  depth  of  170  feet,  and  the  vein  has  been  traced  for  3000  to  4000 
feet,  with  a  width  of  from  one  to  three  feet.  The  "  Orchard  Vein"  is  from 
one  to  six  feet  wide,  and  contains  large  quantities  of  heavy  spar,  with  some 
copper  pyrites.  The  average  yield  of  the  vein,  as  heretofore  worked,  is  given 
at  $1  per  bushel. 

A  vein  has  been  opened  near  Pioneer  Mills,  in  Cabarrus  County,*  consisting 
of  quartz,  with  brown  hematite  and  pyrolusite,  both  in  the  form  of  carbonate 
of  iron.  These  are  accompanied  by  interesting  minerals  containing  tungsten, 
such  as  wolfram,  scheelite,  tungstate  of  copper,  and  tungstic  acid.  The  vein 
shows  visible  particles  of  gold,  and  the  ore  is  considered  to  be  worth  $1  per 
bushel.  The  geological  formation  is  granite. 

Long  and  Musds  Mine,  Cabarrus  County.  From  a  manuscript  report  on 
this  mine,  kindly  furnished  by  Dr.  Genth,  the  following  notices  are  extracted. 
The  geological  formation  is  a  diorite  slate,  passing  into  chloritic  and  talcose 
slates.  There  are  six  or  eight  veins  on  the  property,  of  which  four  are  con- 
sidered as  worth  working.  No.  1  has  a  course  of  about  north  7°  east,  and  dips 
to  the  west  about  50° :  its  width  is  from  two  to  five  feet.  It  consists  of  white 
quartz,  with  iron  pyrites,  copper  pyrites,  brown  hematite,  and  galena.  It  is 
reported  to  have  yielded  from  5  to  100  dwts.  to  the  2000  Ibs.  A  sample  of 
the  refuse  ore  gave,  on  assay,  59  cents  of  gold  to  the  100  Ibs.  No.  2,  a  short 
distance  east  of  No.  1,  has  nearly  the  same  course,  and  is  1.8  inches  in  width. 
Its  contents  are  nearly  the  same  as  those  of  No.  1.  A  rough  experiment,  in 
a  drag-mill,  showed  a  yield,  in  the  ore  from  this  vein,  of  55  dwts.  per  2000 
Ibs.,  of  a  fineness  of  72T7.  No.  3  intersects  veins  No.  1  and  2,  and  has  a 
course  of  north  31°  east.  Near  the  surface  it  was  18  inches  wide,  and,  at  35 
feet  in  depth,  about  3  feet.  The  ore  of  this  vein  yielded  65  dwts.  to  the  2000 
Ibs.,  of  the  same  fineness  as  that  obtained  from  No.  3.  In  order  to  show  that 
by  no  means  all  the  gold  can  be  obtained  by  amalgamation,  Dr.  Genth  ope- 
rated on  a  portion  of  the  ore,  containing  about  60  per  cent,  of  iron  pyrites,  10 
per  cent,  of  galena,  and  the  remainder  quartz,  and  obtained  only  $47  33  of 
gold  and  $1  12  of  silver,  by  the  aid  of  mercury  ;  while  the  tailings  contained 
$68  75  of  gold,  and  $0  52  silver,  per  2000  Ibs.  The  pure  galena  of  this 
vein  yielded  23  oz.  of  silver  per  2000  Ibs.,  which  contained  from  3  to  4  per 


*  Communicated  by  Dr.  Genth. 


132       GOLD  MINES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

cent,  of  gold.  No.  4  is  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  wide,  and  shows  visible  parti- 
cles of  gold  in  connection  with  the  other  minerals  named  above.  The  ore 
yielded  $1  12  per  100  Ibs.  by  assay. 

Lemmond  Mine.  From  Dr.  Genth  I  have  also  received  some  information 
with  regard  to  this  interesting  mine,  which  is  situated  in  Union  County,  eigh- 
teen miles  from  Concord.  There  are  numerous  quartz  veins,  contained  in  a 
very  ferruginous  talcose  and  clay-slate.  On  this  property  veins  No.  3  and  8 
belong  to  the  fahlband  class  of  deposits,  consisting  of  belts  of  slate  impregnated 
with  sulphuret  of  iron,  now  decomposed  into  the  hydrated  oxide,  and  contain- 
ing considerable  quantities  of  gold.  In  No.  8  the  rich  part  of  the  slate  is  ten 
inches  wide.  It  produced  by  amalgamation  2'15  oz.  of  fine  gold  per  2000  Ibs. 
and  the  tailings  yielded  by  assay  1'85  oz.  of  an  alloy  of  gold  and  silver  in 
nearly  equal  quantities.  In  the  space  of  about  fifty  yards  are  four  veins,  two 
of  which  are  at  present  highly  productive.  Veins  11  and  12  are  especially 
worthy  of  notice.  No.  11  is  a  quartz  vein  of  from  six  to  eleven  inches  in 
width,  and  a  course  of  north  43°  east.  It  has  been  worked  to  a  depth  of 
twenty  feet,  and  consists  of  laminated  quartz,  colored  with  oxide  of  iron,  and 
showing,  throughout,  particles  of  gold.  The  ore  is  said  to  produce  from  15  to 
20  dwts.  to  the  bushel.  By  amalgamation  it  gave,  according  to  Dr.  Genth, 
25'6  oz.  per  2000  Ibs.  of  fine  gold  and  7*5  oz.  of  silver,  and  there  stiR  remained 
in  the  tailings  4*8  oz.  of  the  former  and  2' 7  oz.  of  the  latter  metal.  Vein  No. 
12  contains  some  rich  pockets  producing,  by  assay,  16'88  oz.  of  gold  and  9'95 
of  silver  to  the  2000  Ibs.  One  of  the  most  interesting  veins  on  this  property  is 
No.  15,  which  is  a  quartz  vein  having  a  course  north  20°  east.  Its  general 
width  is  about  twelve  to  eighteen  inches,  but  at  twenty  feet  in  depth  it  widened 
out  to  six  feet.  It  contains,  besides  quartz,  zinc-blende,  galena  and  small 
quantities  of  iron  and  copper  pyrites.  Some  very  rich  pockets  have  been  met 
with,  yielding  ores  worth  $500  per  bushel.  Some  of  the  refuse  ore  collected  at 
this  place  gave  by  amalgamation  T55  oz.  of  gold  and  MO  oz.  silver  per  2000 
Ibs.  5  but  only  a  small  part  of  the  metallic  contents  were  extracted  by  mercury, 
since  the  tailings  gave,  by  assay,  11 '76  oz.  of  gold  and  17'90  oz.  of  silver  to  the 
2000  Ibs.  An  examination  of  the  galena  from  this  mine  showed  the  interest- 
ing fact  that  it  contained  29*4  oz.  of  gold  and  86*5  oz.  of  silver,  to  the  2000 
Ibs.  I  know  of  no  galena  equalling  this  in  richness. 

There  was  in  the  spring  of  1853  a  great  number  of  abandoned  mines  near 
Charlotte  in  Mecklenburg  County,  with  regard  to  the  value  of  which  no  opinion 
could  be  formed,  since  the  workings  had  in  almost  every  instance  gone  to  decay 
and  become  filled  with  water. 

At  the  Capp's  Mine  the  openings  were  scattered  about  over  a  wide  extent  of 
ground  as  if  a  cluster  of  veins  had  been  wrought.  On  panning  a  portion  of 
the  ore  it  was  found  to  be  rich  in  gold,  although  it  was  impossible,  even  with  a 
magnifying  glass,  to  discern  a  particle  in  the  stuff  taken  out  of  the  mine.  A 
large  amount  of  gold  is  reported  to  have  been  obtained  here,  the  richest  ore 
yielding  as  much  as  $8  per  bushel.  No  copper  pyrites  was  observed  at  this 
locality. 

Mecklenburg  Gold  and  Copper  Company,  Mecklenburg  County,  near 
Charlotte.  This  Company  has  been  formed  to  work  the  Rhea  and  Cathay 


GOLD  MINES  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       133 

Mines,  which  have  been  described  by  Mr.  Partz.*  According  to  him,  the  Rhea 
property  is  crossed  by  a  cluster  of  veins  which  have  formerly  been  worked  super- 
ficially, the  ore  yielding  from  $1  to  $5,  per  hundred  pounds.  This  mine  is 
about  nine  miles  from  Charlotte.  The  Cathay  Mine,  which  is  five  miles  from 
the  same  town,  has  also  a  promising  vein,  carrying  ore  rich  in  gold  and  con- 
siderable copper  pyrites. 

There  are*  several  other  Companies  which  have  been  recently  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  working  some  of  the  old  mines  of  Cabarrus  and  Mecklenburg 
Counties,  but  no  definite  information  with  regard  to  them  has  yet  reached  me. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. — The  gold  mines  of  this  state  had  become 
almost  entirely  deserted,  previous  to  1852,  when  the  discovery 
of  the  richness  of  the  Dorn  Mine,  attracted  the  attention  of 
capitalists  in  this  direction. 

,  The  Dorn  Mine  is  situated  in  the  lower  end  of  Abbeville  District.  It  is  the 
property  of  a  single  individual,  and  has  a  wide  reputation  as  the  richest  gold 
mine  of  the  Atlantic  States.  Some  of  the  best  ore  is  stated  by  Mr.  Dorn's 
cashier  to  be  worth  $2000  per  bushel,  a  yield  of  $5  per  100  Ibs.  being  con- 
sidered a  poor  one  at  this  mine.  After  many  years  of  persevering  labor  in 
exploring  without  success,  Mr.  Dorn  struck  the  rich  bunch  of  ore  in  February, 
1852.  Up  to  July,  1853,  an  amount  equal  to  $300,000  is  said  to  have  been 
taken  from  an  excavation  a  little  over  three  hundred  feet  long,  twelve  feet  deep, 
and  fifteen  wide.  The  expense  is  stated  at  $1200,  $202,216  09  having  been 
obtained  in  one  year  by  a  simple  Chilian  mill,  driven  by  two  mules,  and  work- 
ing fifteen  bushels  per  day.  Pieces  of  gold  weighing  as  much  as  sixty  dvvts. 
are  said  to  have  been  found. 

The  vein  is  said  to  have  a  course  of  north  78°  east,  and  to  have  widened  out, 
from  eighteen  inches  at  the  surface,  to  fourteen  feet  at  a  depth  of  ten  feet 
below  the  water-level.  Of  course  such  rich  bunches  of  ore  cannot  be  expected 
to  continue  for  any  great  distance  5  and  the  returns  of  the  deposits  at  the  Mint 
from  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  which  rose  from  $19,000  in  1850  to  $126,982 
in  1852,  seem  to  be  again  falling  off,  indicating  that  the  best  portion  of  the  vein 
has  been  already  excavated. 

The  Dorn  Mining  Company  was  formed  in  New  York,  to  work  a  property 
adjacent  to  the  above-described  mine.  They  are  reported  as  having  erected  a 
powerful  steam-engine  and  two  of  Berdan's  machines.  Their  lines  run  within 
a  few  hundred  feet  of  the  rich  bunch  of  ore  worked  by  Mr.  Dorn.  No  report 
of  their  progress  has  been  published. 

Other  mines,  mentioned  by  M.  Tuomey,  which  have  been 
taken  up  within  a  recent  period,  mostly  by  New  York  capi- 
talists, are  Ezell's  Mine,  by  the  YorJcville  Mining  Company, 
Hale's  Mine,  and  Lawson's  Mine. 

*  Mining  Magazine,  ii.  380. 


134  GOLD    IN    CALIFORNIA. 

GEORGIA. — In  this  state  the  yield  of  gold,  which  once 
reached  half  a  million  of  dollars  per  annum,  has  fallen  off 
gradually,  until,  in  1853,  the  amount  deposited  at  the  Mints 
was  only  $58,896. 

Efforts  have  been  recently  made  to  revive  some  of  the 
abandoned  mines.  Among  those  taken  up,  are  Moore's 
Mine,  near  Dahlonega,  by  a  company  called  The  Georgia 
G-old  Company,  and  the  Lawhorn  Mine. 

TENNESSEE  AND  ALABAMA. — These  states  have  each  pro- 
duced a  few  thousand  dollars  annually  of  gold,  during  the 
last  twenty  years ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  their 
future  yield  will  ever  be  of  any  considerable  importance. 

NEW  MEXICO. — In  regard  to  New  Mexico,  it  seems  almost 
impossible  to  obtain  any  definite  information,  although  it  is 
known  that  gold  is  produced  here  in  some  quantity.  The 
amount  deposited  at  the  Mints  is  very  small,  and  varying 
from  a  few  hundred  to  several  thousand  dollars.  Dr.  Wisli- 
zenus*  describes  two  localities  near  Santa  Fe,  the  Old  and 
New  Placer.  The  "  Old  Placer"  is  twenty-seven  miles  from 
that  city,  the  predominating  rocks  being  white  and  yellow 
quartzose  sandstone,  quartz,  hornblende  rock,  sienite,  and 
diorite.  At  the  "New  Placer,"  nine  miles  from  the  town, 
both  washing  and  mining  in  the  rock  are  carried  on.  Two 
mines  were  worked  at  that  time.  The  vein  of  one  of  these 
is  described  by  Dr.  Wislizenus  as  being  contained  in  sienite 
and  greenstone,  and  having  a  quartzose  and  ferruginous 
gangue.  The  same  description  applies  to  the  mines  of  the 
"  Old  Placer."  Together,  these  washings  and  mines  are  said, 
by  the  same  authority,  to  have  yielded  at  various  times  from 
$30,000  to  $250,000  per  annum. 

CALIFORNIA. — We  come  now  to  speak  of  a  country  whose 
golden  wealth  surpasses  anything  yet  known  to  have  been 
discovered,  and  which,  in  its  influence  on  the  march  of  the 
world,  is  to  be  ranked  among  the  great  events  of  modern 
times.  Up  to  a  very  recent  period,  the  Pacific  side  of  our 
continent  had  remained  an  uninhabited  and  almost  unvisited 
region,  of  which  we  knew  almost  nothing,  save  what  might 

*  Memoir  of  a  Tour  to  Northern  Mexico,  1846-7,  published  by  Congress,  p.  24. 


ITS    FIRST    DISCOVERY.  135 

be  gleaned  from  an  occasional  scientific  expedition  across 
the  desert  plains,  or  the  returning  ship  of  the  whaler  and 
dealer  in  hides ;  and  it  seemed  to  require  some  extraordinary 
event  to  direct  the  tide  of  emigration  thither,  to  a  land  then 
inaccessible,  except  by  a  six  months'  voyage  around  Cape 
Horn,  or  a  perilous  journey,  nearly  as  long,  over  unexplored 
and  desert  plains.  This  event  came  in  the  demonstration  of 
the  simple  fact  that,  throughout  a  vast  extent  of  that  distant 
country,  gold  in  unstinted  quantity  was  to  be  had  for  the 
trouble  of  digging  it,  and  that  it  was  free  to  all  who  chose  to 
go  thither  and  take  it.  Then  commenced  a  wandering  of 
nations  without  a  parallel  in  history.  The  perils  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  overland  route  were  braved  with  indomitable 
energy ;  the  Pacific  was  whitened  with  the  sails  of  nations 
pressing  to  the  land  of  gold ;  and,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
world's  history,  representatives  of  every  people  and  climate 
hurried  towards  a  common  centre  of  attraction. 

The  existence  of  gold  in  California  has  been  long  known, 
although  it  was  not  until  the  region  passed  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  United  States  that  this  knowledge  became  a  tan- 
gible and  universally  recognized  thing.  The  same  was  the 
case  with  the  Australian  gold  discoveries;  it  required  the 
right  moment  and  the  right  man,  before  they  could  acquire 
a  national  importance.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
existence  of  gold  was  well  known  to  the  Jesuit  fathers,  who 
in  reality  governed  the  country  before  it  was  taken  from  the 
Mexicans.  A  vein  of  gold-bearing  quartz  was  even  worked, 
near  the  mission  of  San  Fernando,  by  a  Frenchman,  M.  Baric, 
in  1843,  according  to  Duflot  de  Mofras.*  An  English  naval 
officer  brought  a  magnificent  specimen  of  gold-bearing  quartz 
rock  from  that  region  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  and  others 
had  done  the  same. 

The  first  effectual  discovery  of  gold,  however,  in  this  state, 
.was  made  in  the  spring  of  1848,  probably  either  in  February 
or  early  in  March.  The  earliest  authentic  information  which 
reached  this  country  must  have  been  received  in  August  or 
September :  one  of  the  first  communications  published  was 

*  Duflot  de  Mofras,  Ex.  du  Territoire  de  TOregon,  i.  p.  489. 


136  DISCOVERY    OF    GOLD    IN    CALIFORNIA. 

a  letter  from  Eev.  C.  S.  Lyman,  who  happened  to  he  in  Cali- 
fornia at  the  time,  dated  San  Jose,  March  24, 1848,  and  pub- 
lished in  Silliman's  Journal  for  September.  Mr.  Lyman,  in 
this  communication,  remarks  as  follows :  "  Gold  has  been 
recently  found  on  the  Sacramento,  near  Sutter's  Fort.  It 
occurs  in  small  masses,  in  the  sands  of  a  new  mill-race,  and 
is  said  to  promise  well."  The  first  gold  discovery  was  en- 
tirely the  result  of  accident.  Col.  Sutter,  a  retired  Swiss 
officer  of  the  guard  of  Charles  X.,  had  contracted  with  a  Mr. 
Marshall  for  lumber  which  necessitated  the  erection  of  a 
saw-mill,  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  American  Eiver,  at  a 
place  now  called  Coloma.  It  was  completed  in  the  spring 
of  1848,  and  in  letting  the  water  flow  with  a  strong  current 
through  the  tail-race,  a  certain  quantity  of  the  glittering  par- 
ticles were  washed  out,  so  as  to  be  quite  conspicuous,  and 
were  immediately  recognized  by  Mr.  Marshall  as  gold.  Na- 
turally enough,  it  was  desired  to  keep  the  discovery  secret, 
but  among  inquisitive  Yankees  this  was  hardly  possible,  for 
any  length  of  time.  Col.  Mason,  who  was  then  Governor  of 
California,  was  led,  by  the  rumors  of  gold  discoveries,  to 
visit  the  locality,  and  early  in  July  he  found  the  gold  dig- 
gings a  scene  of  the  utmost  excitement,  the  news  having 
spread  through  California  and  completely  emptied  San  Fran- 
cisco of  its  inhabitants,  then  a  few  hundred  in  number.  At 
the  time  of  his  arrival,  the  number  of  persons  employed  in 
washing,  on  the  American  River  and  its  branches,  was  already 
as  many  as  four  thousand,  who  were  supposed  to  be  obtain- 
ing from  $30,000  to  $40,000  per  day.  In  November,  Mr. 
Lyman  estimated  the  amount  taken  out,  up  to  that  time,  at 
from  four  to  five  millions  of  dollars.*  He  asserts  that  from 
five  to  ten  ounces  was  not  an  uncommon  quantity  for  a  single 
person  to  wash  out  in  a  day,  while  some  had  obtained  as 
many  pounds  in  the  same  time. 

Information  of  these  extraordinary  discoveries  spread  far 
and  wide,  during  the  winter  of  1848-9 ;  and  on  the  com- 
mencement of  the  dry  season  of  1849,  the  immigration  may 
be  said  to  have  commenced  on  a  large  scale ;  and  first  from 

*  Sill.  Am.  Jour.  (2),  vii.  291. 


OFFICIAL    REPORTS.  137 

Mexico,  Peru,  and  Chili,  and  other  mining  states  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast;  afterwards  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  China, 
and  New  Holland ;  and  last  from  the  United  States  and 
Europe.  The  arrivals  from  the  United  States  by  sea  did  not 
begin  to  be  numerous  until  July  and  August,  1849,  and  the 
overland  emigration  commenced  pouring  in  early  in  Sep- 
tember. Naturally,  the  first  arrivals  were  chiefly  foreigners, 
Mexicans  and  Chilians,  and  it  is  supposed  that  there  were 
15,000  of  these  at  the  mines  in  July,  but  the  overwhelming 
tide  of  emigration  from  the  United  States  swept  them  from 
the  country  in  a  short  time.  Not  long  after  the  receipt  of 
Col.  Mason's  despatches,  the  Department  of  State,  at  Wash- 
ington, selected  Mr.  T.  B.  King  as  bearer  of  despatches  and 
agent  to  examine  and  report  on  the  population,  productions, 
and  resources  of  California.  This  gentleman  arrived  at  San 
Francisco,  June  4,  1849,  and  his  report,  the  first  official 
document  of  any  importance  relating  to  California,  was 
dated  March  22,  1850.  In  the  mean  time,  he  had  made  a 
rapid  tour  through  the  gold  region,  and  collected  some  inte- 
resting information  in  regard  to  it.  Mr.  King  was  not  a 
scientific  observer,  and  his  opinions  in  regard  to  the  geolo- 
gical structure  of  the  country  are  very  crude  and  incorrect, 
as  was  shown  by  Mr.  P.  T.  Tyson,  who  accompanied  him  in 
a  part  of  his  tour  of  observation.  His  estimates,  however, 
in  regard  to  the  future  probable  yield  of  gold,  startling  as 
they  appeared  at  first,  have  proved  to  be  rather  under,  than 
over,  the  mark.  During  the  years  1848  and  1849,  Mr.  King 
supposes  that  about  $40,000,000  were  obtained  from  the 
washings,  there  being,  before  the  close  of  the  last-named 
year,  between  40,000  and  50,000  Americans  and  5,000  fo- 
reigners engaged  in  digging.  This  amount  had  been  prin- 
cipally taken  from  the  northern  rivers,  or  those  which  empty 
into  the  Sacramento,  the  branches  of  the  San  Joaquin  having 
been  up  to  that  time  but  little  resorted  to.  Mr.  King  esti- 
mated the  probable  yield  of  gold  for  1850  at  $50,000,000,  a 
sum  of  startling  magnitude,  which,  however,  the  actual 
yield  probably  exceeded  father  than  fell  belowy 

In  regard  to  the  geological  features  of  California,  as  far 


138  GEOGRAPHY    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

as  detailed  observations  of  scientific  and  unprejudiced  ob- 
servers are  concerned,  we  are  almost  entirely  destitute  of 
them,  so  that  great  difficulty  is  experienced  in  giving  any- 
thing like  a  complete  idea  of  the  position  of  the  gold  in  all 
its  relations  to  geology.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  geologi- 
cal survey  of  this  interesting  region  has  not  been  instituted, 
since  were  such  to  be  carried  on  by  competent  men,  the  re- 
sults would  possess  a  high  degree  of  practical  and  scientific 
interest.  At  present  it  is  impossible,  from  the  conflicting 
accounts  of  the  gold-region,  to  draw  such  general  conclu- 
sions, with  regard  to  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  gold,  as 
would  enable  us  to  throw  much  light  on  the  probable  future 
of  that  country.  The  most  reliable  information  is  that  con- 
veyed by  the  figures  stating  the  arrivals  of  the  gold.  These 
are  sufficient  to  show  that  California  has  held,  and  still  holds, 
the  first  rank  as  a  gold-producing  country,  and  that  it  is 
likely  to  continue  to  do  so  for  a  long  period  to  come. 

The  great  valley  of  California  is  drained  by  two  principal 
rivers,  the  one  flowing  north  and  the  other  south,  which 
unite  midway,  and  make  their  way  through  a  side-cut  in  the 
mountain  ranges  into  the  ocean.  These  streams  are  the 
Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin,  and,  with  their  numerous 
affluents,  they  drain  the  auriferous  district  of  California. 
This  immense  basin  or  trough  has  a  length  of  about  500 
miles,  and  a  breadth  of  from  50  to  100.  On  its  eastern  rim 
rise  the  grand  masses  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  continuation 
of  the  Cascade  Range  of  Oregon,  whose  summits  are  elevated 
above  the  limits  of  perpetual  snow.  The  central  axis  of  the 
Sierra  seems  to  be  made  up  of  granite  rocks,  through  which 
volcanic  fires  have  occasionally  found  vent,  and  piled  up 
lofty  masses  of  debris.  This  granitic  axis  is  flanked  by 
heavy  accumulations  of  slaty  rocks,  in  which  the  talcose 
varieties  predominate:  these  alternate  with  trappean  and 
serpentine  masses,  which  extend  to  the  valley  of  the  Sacra- 
mento, where  they  are  concealed  by  sedimentary  deposits  of 
recent  origin.  On  the  western  edge  of  the  great  valley  is 
the  Coast  Range,  a  series  of  elevations  parallel  with  the  coast, 
and  but  a  few  miles  distant  from  it. 

The  slates  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  forming  a  belt  forty  or 


GEOLOGY    OF    CALIFORNIA.  139 

fifty  miles  wide,  and  extending  through  the  valley,  are  the 
gold-bearing  rocks  of  the  region. 

They  form  precipitous  and  broken  ranges  cut  through  by 
deep  gorges,  through  which,  in  the  rainy  season,  impetuous 
torrents  find  their  way  to  the  valley.  The  average  fall  of  the 
streams  from  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  to  the  valley  of  the 
Sacramento  is  stated,  by  Mr.  Tyson,  at  180  feet  to  the  mile, 
which  would  cause  a  current  in  the  streams,  when  swollen 
by  the  melting  snows,  capable  of  wearing  out  those  stupen- 
dous ravines,  some  of  which  exceed  3000  feet  in  depth. 

The  geological  age  of  the  gold-bearing  slates  remains 
undetermined ;  but  they  are  similar  in  lithological  character 
to  those  of  other  great  gold  regions  of  the  world.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  very  ancient,  but  whether  of 
azoic  or  palaeozoic  age,  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  absolute 
certainty.  As  similar  formations,  in  some  parts  of  the 
chain  of  the  Andes,  have  been  found  to  contain  fossils  of 
Silurian  age,  and  as  this  is  the  period  to  which  the  Uralian 
gold  rocks  may,  beyond  a  doubt,  and  those  of  Australia, 
with  great  probability,  be  referred,  it  is  not  improbable  the 
auriferous  rocks  of  California  belong  also  to  the  palaeozoic 
epoch.  Their  organic  contents  have  been  obliterated,  how- 
ever, and  they  have  assumed  a  crystalline  structure,  being 
everywhere  invaded  and  broken  up  by  igneous  masses. 

Lower  down  on  the  flanks  of  the  Sierra,  the  summits  of 
the  ridges  are  capped  with  sedimentary  rocks,  which  rest 
nearly  horizontally  on  the  upturned  edges  of  the  slates, 
showing  that  they  had  been  deposited  after  the  latter  had 
taken  their  present  form  and  position.  The  conglomerates, 
which,  according  to  Mr.  Tyson,  cover  many  of  the  hills 
between  the  Consumes  and  Calaveras,  are  found  at  the 
height  of  more  than  2000  feet,  and  consist  of  pebbles,  with 
a  more  or  less  ferruginous  cement.  They  are  interstratified 
with  beds  of  sandstone,  beneath  which  are  heavy  deposits  of 
indurated  clay.  The  whole  thickness  of  this  formation  is 
estimated  at  200  feet.  This  group  of  sandstone  and  con- 
glomerates apparently  extends  under  the  valley  of  the  Sacra- 
mento, and  appears  again  in  the  ridges  of  the  Coast  Range, 
where  its  stratification  is  much  broken  and  disturbed.  They 


140  GEOLOGY    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

are  considered  to  be  identical,  in  geological  age,  with  the 
rocks  of  similar  character  which  occur  in  Oregon,  and 
which  belong  to  the  Miocene  division  of  the  tertiary. 

Thus  far  almost  the  whole  of  the  gold  of  this  region  has 
been  obtained  from  the  superficial  deposits,  or  the  loose 
sand,  gravel,  and  boulders  lying  upon  the  rocks  in  place, 
and  they  are  found  within  the  mountain  districts  of  the 
western  flank  of  the  Sierra,  in  the  river  valleys,  and  far  up 
in  the  mountain  gorges.  According  to  Prof.  James  Blake,* 
the  extent  of  these  deposits  is  commensurate,  or  nearly  so, 
with  the  gold  region  itself.  They  are  met  with  as  we 
advance  from  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  into  the  lower  hills 
at  its  base,  and  extend  some  miles  into  the  plain.  Towards 
the  base  of  the  Sierra,  the  conglomerate  and  gravel  are  found 
in  greater  abundance,  and  the  pebbles  and  boulders  are 
larger ;  they  often  cover  extensive  plains  surrounded  by  low 
ridges  of  porphyry  and  slate.  As  we  ascend  towards  the 
axis  of  the  chain,  these  deposits  become  more  extensive; 
and,  at  a  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles  from  the  lower 
hills,  they  are  found  occupying  the  crests  of  almost  all  the 
highest  ridges,  when  their  extent  frequently  does  not  exceed 
a  few  yards  in  breadth.  Their  depth  is  extremely  variable ; 
sometimes  a  few  rounded  pebbles  only  remain,  nearly  the 
whole  mass  having  been  swept  into  the  adjacent  valleys ;  in 
other  places,  particularly  on  elevated  plains,  they  are 
spread  out  in  a  pretty  uniform  thickness  of  a  few  feet. 
Frequently  they  attain  a  much  greater  extent,  and  are 
piled  up  in  horizontal  strata  of  different  materials  to  a 
height  of  several  hundred  feet.  These  deposits  are  said 
by  Professor  Blake  to  be  especially  developed  at  Nevada 
and  Mokelumne  Hill.  At  the  former  place,  they  form 
the  crest  of  a  high  mountain  called  the  "  Sugar-Loaf," 
2000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  adjacent  stream,  of  which 
the  upper  600  feet  are  formed  of  stratified  drift ;  the  same 
material  forms  the  upper  200  feet  of  the  high  mountain 
called  Mokelumne  Hill.  In  the  lower  valleys,  among  the 
less  elevated  ranges,  the  detrital  materials  consist  of  beds 
of  gravel,  mixed  with  boulders  and  fragments  of  the  harder 

*  Sill.  Am.  Journ.  (2),  xiii.  33G. 


AGE  OF  THE  AURIFEROUS  DETRITUS.     141 

rocks.  On  the  elevated  flats,  higher  up  in  the  mountains, 
the  upper  portion  is  made  up  of  a  reddish  loam,  mixed  with 
small  gravel,  and,  beneath,  is  a  stratum  of  larger  boulders, 
principally  of  quartz,  scattered  through  the  coarse  drift.  On 
the  summits  of  the  hills,  the  strata  attain  their  greatest 
thickness,  and  are  usually  nearly  horizontal.  It  appears 
that  these  accumulated  masses  of  drift  are  highly  auriferous, 
since  the  ravines  descending  from  the  ridges  on  which  they 
are  found  are  generally  extremely  rich ;  when  they  extend 
over  a  large  surface  on  the  elevated  flats,  gold  is  always  met 
with  diffused  through  the  gravel  immediately  above  the  rock 
on  which  they  rest,  to  the  amount  of  from  fifteen  to  forty 
cents  to  the  bushel  of  dirt.  Prof.  Blake  is  of  the  opinion 
that  these  drift  deposits  are  the  secondary  source  from  which 
the  gold  found  in  that  region  has  been  derived.  He  also 
remarks,  that  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  in  these 
deposits  a  supply  of  gold  which  it  wyill  require  centuries  to 
exhaust. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  opinions  with  regard  to  the  age  of 
the  recent  stratified  deposits  resting  on  the  flanks  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  differ ;  by  some  they  are  referred  to  the  ter- 
tiary, by  others  to  the  drift  epoch.  If  Professor  Blake's 
opinion  is  correct,  and  they  are  really  of  the  period  indicated 
by  him,  and  the  true  depository  of  the  gold,  it  is  a  fact  of  the 
greatest  interest.  In  that  case,  California  would  present  a 
striking  analogy  with  the  Uralian  gold-fields,  and  the  opinion 
of  Murchison  would  be  fully  sustained,  that  the  auriferous 
detritus  is  in  no  way  to  be  confounded  with  the  alluvial  de- 
posits of  the  present  day,  modern  causes  having  done  little 
more  than  concentrate  the  gold  already  abraded,  by  washing 
out  the  sedimentary  matter  with  which  it  was  imbedded. 

From  all  the  accounts  published  by  numerous  visitors  to 
California,  it  would  seem  evident  that  the  mode  of  occurrence 
of  the  gold  in  the  rock  is,  in  its  main  features,  similar  to  that 
of  the  Southern  Atlantic  States. .  It  is  associated  with  quartz 
rock,  which  forms  bands,  or  segregated  masses,  parallel  with 
the  stratification  or  lamination  of  the  slates.  But  in  Cali- 
fornia the  quartz  seems  to  be  more  solid  and  compact,  less 
associated  with  gossan  and  iron  pyrites,  and  less  decomposed 


142  GOLD    QUARTZ    MINING. 

and  softened  in  its  superficial  portions.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  "veins"  are  much  thicker,  as  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  almost  universally  called  ledges,  and  probably 
richer ;  I  say  probably,  for  there  are  no  certain  data  on  which 
to  build  an  assertion,  nor  could  such  be  procured,  even  on 
the  spot,  for  the  majority  of  the  gold-quartz  mining  compa- 
nies have  never  gone  on  the  principle  of  open  and  candid 
dealing  with  their  stockholders  or  with  the  public.  Such 
enormously  rich  specimens  were  shown  in  the  Atlantic  and 
English  cities,  and  such  stories  of  fabulous  wealth  visible  in 
the  quartz  ledges  were  related,  that  it  was  enough  to  destroy 
all  confidence  in  gold-quartz  mining.  Had  one  hundredth 
part  of  these  stories  been  true,  the  companies  ought  ere  this 
to  have  made  the  fortunes  of  their  stockholders.  At  present, 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  say  that  any  of  them  have  succeeded, 
but  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  majority  have  proved  utter 
failures.  This  does  not  necessarily  demonstrate  that  there 
are  not  quartz-veins  in  California  which  might,  under  more 
favorable  circumstances,  be  worked  with  profit.  There  are 
mines,  like  those  of  St.  John  del  Rey,  which,  after  long  ex- 
perience acquired  in  working  them  and  with  economical 
management,  pay  a  handsome  return  for  the  capital  invested, 
and  that  too  when  the  yield  is  small  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  ore  stamped ;  but  without  judgment  and  economy 
a  rock  ten  times  as  rich  might  be  worked  with  loss. 

In  the  beginning  of  1853,  there  were  at  least  twenty  Anglo- 
Californian  gold-quartz  mining  companies  in  the  London 
market,  representing  nearly  2,000,000  shares,  and  an  invest- 
ment of  about  $10,000,000.  How  much  of  this  nominal 
capital  had  been  actually  applied  to  mining  it  is  impossible 
to  say,  but  many  of  them  had  no  existence  except  on  paper ; 
some,  whose  stock  at  that  time  stood  considerably  above  par, 
had  never  obtained  a  foothold  in  California,  and  no  one  had 
paid  anything  like  its  expenses.  There  are  many  drawbacks 
to  successful  quartz-mining,  aside  from  wilful  dishonesty  or 
simple  incapacity.  The  first  and  greatest,  undoubtedly,  is 
the  unequal  distribution  of  the  gold  in  the  quartz ;  it  cannot 
be  depended  on  like  the  Brazilian  gold-bearing  rock,  but  is 
here  rich  and  there  poor,  so  that  a  large  quantity  of  dead 


WASHING    MACHINERY.  143 

ground  must  be  broken,  and  it  is  not  always  possible  to  sepa- 
rate the  rich  ore  from  the  worthless.  But  the  high  price 
of  labor,  the  cost  of  materials,  expense  of  transportation,  and 
scarcity  of  fuel  and  water,  must  be  taken  into  consideration, 
and  under  all  these  disadvantages  it  will  be  evident  that  to 
make  a  paying  mine  would  require  a  percentage  of  gold 
vastly  higher  than  would  be  necessary  in  a  country  where 
labor  was  cheap,  and  other  facilities  abundant.  As  long  as 
the  placer-mines  continue  to  yield  as  they  are  now  yielding, 
so  long  it  seems  evident  that  the  quartz  mining  companies 
will  be  laboring  under  a  great  disadvantage. 

The  most  extensive  operations  thus  far  undertaken  in 
California,  belong  rather  to  the  department,  of  hydraulic 
engineering  than  that  of  mining.  They  are  chiefly  of  two 
classes,  one  comprehending  the  turning  of  the  current  of  the 
larger  streams,  in  order  to  lay  bare  their  beds  and  wash  out 
the  gold ;  the  other  consists  in  digging  canals  and  building 
sluices,  so  as  to  lead  the  w^ater  of  some  of  the  conveniently 
situated  rivers  on  to  the  elevated  flats,  where  there  would 
otherwise  be  no  means  of  washing.  Very  extensive  works  of 
the  first-mentioned  kind  have  been  carried  on  in  the  valleys 
of  the  American  River  and  its  various  branches,  and  over  a 
million  and  a  half  of  dollars  are  said  to  have  been  expended 
on  this  stream  in  this  way ;  and  it  is  reported  that  the  yield 
of  gold  was  not  sufficient  to  repay  the  expenses.  The  com- 
panies engaged  in  these  works  labor  under  many  serious 
difficulties,  such  as  the  scarcity  of  lumber,  and  the  want  of 
means  of  transportation,  as  well  as  the  rapid  evaporation  and 
leakage  from  the  long  flumes  they  are  forced  to  build.  One 
of  the  most  extensive  of  these  undertakings,  is  the  Bear  River 
and  Auburn  Canal,  which  is  said  to  be  nearly  forty  miles 
long,  and  to  have  as  much  more  in  length  of  side-ditches,  or 
sluices,  for  leading  off  the  water  to  the  various  points  where 
it  is  required. 

The  machinery  used  for  washing  the  gold  out  of  the  earth 
is  various  in  character.  The  common  pan  was  the  first  im- 
plement, and  one  which  still  does  good  service,  although 
much  more  complicated  implements  have  been  introduced. 
The  "  cradle,"  or  rocker,  of  the  southern  mines,  was  the  first 


144  STATISTICS    OF    CALIFORNIA    GOLD. 

improvement  on  the  pan,  and  is  still  much  used  on  account 
of  its  cheapness  and  portability.  Various  forms  of  the  cradle 
and  rocker  have  been  introduced.  That  which  seems  most 
in  vogue  at  present  is  the  machine  called  a  "  torn,"  some- 
what resembling  the  "Burke  rocker"  of  the  southern  gold 
mines,  but  stationary,  the  gold  being  separated  by  the  force 
of  a  current  of  water,  and  collected  in  the  "riffle-box,"  or 
"  riffle-board."  The  whole  object  of  these  various  contri- 
vances is  to  imitate  nature,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  the  way 
in  which  she  has  separated  the  gold  from  the  detritus  in  the 
channels  of  the  mountain  streams.  "  Sluicing,"  which  is 
also  much  in  use,  and  considered  by  many  the  best  process, 
is  the  closest  possible  copy  of  what  takes  place  where  a  stream 
of  water  flows  through  the  auriferous  sands  of  a  rapidly  in- 
clining valley.  The  "sluice"  is  a  sort  of  "washing-table," 
of  extraordinary  length,  and  comparatively  narrow,  some  of 
them  being  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  by  two  in  width. 
One  end  is  raised  at  a  considerable  angle,  so  that  the  current 
flows  through,  separating  the  dirt  from  the  gold,  which  sinks 
and  is  retained,  when  it  arrives  near  the  bottom,  by  cleats  or 
"riffles,"  placed  across  the  sluice  near  its  lower  end.  Many 
improvements  have  been  attempted  in  the  form  of  the  riffles, 
but  no  one  has  been  universally  recognized  as  superior  to  the 
others. 

The  amount  of  gold  produced  by  California  is  next  to  be 
considered ;  and  the  inquiry  as  to  what  that  region  has  yielded 
and  is  still  yielding,  is  one  of  great  interest.  And  in  the 
first  place,  in  order  to  throw  as  much  light  as  possible  on 
this  subject,  the  following  table  is  appended,  which  shows 
the  amount  deposited  at  the  United  States  Mint  and  all  its 
branches  by  each  state,  from  the  period  of  the  earliest  dis- 
coveries up  to  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  1854.  The 
amount  for  each  state  is  specified  separately,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  ten  years  from  1838  to  1847,  during  which  time 
the  accounts  of  the  Mint  were  not  kept  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  allow  of  the  different  states  being  separated,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Virginia. 


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146  STATISTICS     OF    CALIFORNIA    GOLD. 

The  striking  superiority  in  richness  of  the  California  gold 
fields  over  those  of  the  Atlantic  slope  of  the  continent  is 
made  veiy  evident  by  an  inspection  of  the  above  table.  From 
it,  it  appears  that  up  to  the  end  of  1858  there  had  been  de- 
posited as  follows : — 

From  the  Atlantic  States, §16,970,162 

New  Mexico,  Oregon,  and  various  sources, .         .         .  105,995 

California, 207,316,177 


§224,392,334 

In  the  above  item  of  over  two  hundred  and  seven  millions 
of  dollars  deposited  from  California,  we  have  a  groundwork 
on  which  to  base  a  calculation  as  to  the  amount  produced  by 
that  state.  If  we  compare  this  sum  with  the  actual  shipments 
from  San  Francisco,  as  manifested,  we  find  that  it  exceeds 
them  by  over  3,500,000  dollars. 

The  following  sums  are  given  as  the  value  of  the  gold  dust 
manifested  and  shipped  from  San  Francisco  for  each  year 
since  the  opening  of  the  gold  fields : — 

1849  and  50, §68,587,591 

1851, 34,492,634 

1852, 45,801,321 

1853,  .           54,907,005 


As  a  considerable  portion  of  the  amount  manifested  was 
for  England,  South  America,  and  other  foreign  countries,  it  is 
seen  at  once  that  large  sums  must  be  taken  from  the  country 
in  the  hands  of  passengers,  and  in  other  ways,  without  being 
manifested. 

The  highest  yield  seems  to  have  been  in  1851,  when  the 
auriferous  fields  were  not  yet  in  any  degree  exhausted,  and 
the  number  of  miners  was  perhaps  as  great  nearly  as  now. 
There  may  have  been  a  slight  falling  oft*  in  the  latter  part  of 
1853,  but  it  is  not  apparent  from  any  returns  which  could  be 
obtained.  It  is  probable  that  the  year  1854  will  show  a  fall- 
ing off  from  1853,  and  that  the  produce  will  continue  slowly 
to  decline  from  year  to  year. 


STATISTICS    OF    GOLD.  147 

The  following  statement  is  presented  as  an  approximation 
to  the  grand  total  of  the  produce  of  California  up  to  the  end 
•of  1853,  most  of  the  items  being  from  actual  returns. 

Deposited  in  United  States  Mint  and  branches  up  to  Dec. 

31,.  1853, $207,316,177 

Shipments  to  foreign  ports  in  1848-49,  and  50,  est., .         .  10,000,000 
Taken  out  of  the  country  by  foreign  miners,  chiefly  Mexi- 
cans, in  1848  and  49,  est., 10,000,000 

Shipped  to  Europe  in  1851, 3392760 

Shipped  to  South  American  ports  in  1851,         .         .         .  2,372,000 

Shipped  to  Europe  in  1852, 6,000,000 

Shipped  to  South  American  and  Asiatic  ports  in  1852,      .  1,000,000 

Shipped  to  England  in  1853, 5,000,000 

Shipped  to  other  ports  in  1853, 1,600,000 

In  circulation  in  California,  in  transitu,  and  otherwise  ab- 
sorbed, estimate, 13,319,063 

$260.000,000 

After  carefully  examining  all  the  statements  made  by  the 
California  bankers  and  others,  and  the  amounts  deposited 
each  year  at  the  Mints,  I  have  divided  this  sum  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner,  as  the  yield  of  each  year : — 

Ibs.  troy. 

1848,  .         .         .     $5,000,000  representing  of  pure  gold       20,150 

1849,  .         .         .     20,000,000  "  "  80,600 

1850,  .         .         .     45,000,000  "  "  181,400 

1851,  .         .         .     65,000,000  "  "  262,000 

1852,  .         .         .     62,500,000  "  "  252,000 

1853,  .         .     62,500,000  "  "  252,000 


$260,000,000  1,048,150 

In  the  preceding  pages  of  this  chapter  various  statistics  of 
the  principal  auriferous  districts  of  the  world  have  been 
placed  before  the  reader.  In  order  to  facilitate  a  compari- 
son of  the  results,  they  are  herewith  presented  in  a  tabular 
form.  In  the  first  table  the  data  for  the  Eastern  Hemisphere 
are  given,  so  far  as  they  have  been  obtained,  from  the  year 
1800,  the  amounts,  which  are  in  Ibs.  troy,  being  specified  at 
first  for  each  tenth  year,  then  for  each  fifth  year,  and,  from 
1845  up  to  the  present  time,  for  every  year.  The  amounts 
given  for  Africa  and  the  East  Indies  are,  mere  estimates ; 


148 


STATISTICS    OF    GOLD. 


most  of  the  other  figures  are  from  reliable  authorities,  and  the 
spaces  are  left  blank  when  such  could  not  be  obtained. 


CS 

c 

<L> 
13 

_rf 

c 

CS 

II 

2 
"S 

3 

£ 

t 

cc 

ci 

n 

3 

< 

CS 

£H 

o, 

GO 

< 

•<£ 
ccH 

3 

«< 

1800  

1,440 

660 

1810 

1820,  

1  930 

2,682 

1825 

11  300 

3  034 

1830,  
1835   .     .         .     . 

10,600 
18  100 

2 

6 
6 

3.397 
4,301 

250 

1840 

25  650 

2 

5  114 

1845        .     . 

60  800 

5,406 

('44)  28 

1846 

75  600 

5  790 

1847,  

80  100 

5.662 

49 

1848 

75  950 

5  645 

1849,       .... 

71,700 

28 

1850 

65  600 

1 

6 

o 

1851,  

68  550  * 

30,000 

1852 

63  950 

330,000 

1853,  

4,000 

25.000 

210,000 

In  the  subjoined  table  the  same  system  is  pursued  with 
regard  to  the  Western  Hemisphere.  Here,  however,  the  relia- 
ble data  are  few  and  far  between,  and  in  hardly  any  instances 
are  they  much  better  than  mere  estimates.  The  zero  (0)  is 
introduced  in  both  tables,  to  indicate  the  period  previous  to 
which  no  gold  had  been  obtained  in  the  country  the  name 
of  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  column.  California  is 
separated  from  the  other  United  States,  as  being  geographi- 
cally, if  not  politically,  distinct. 


IS 
o 

Bolivia. 

3 

I* 
0) 

PH 

N.  Grenada. 

a 
M 

Cent.  Arn. 
and  Mexico. 

Mexico. 

California. 

to 
cd 
£ 
£ 

1800,  .     .    . 

7,500 

2,500 
2,800 
2,850 

1,600 
1,200 

2,400 
1,900 

12,600 
13,300 

10,000 
1,565 

6,700 
5,096 

5,668 

4,300 

7,925 
9.900 

0 
20.150 
80.600 
181,400 
262,000 
252.000 
252,000 

80 
2,000 
3,100 
1,900 
4,500 
5.000 
3,900 
3,750 
4,100 
2.950 
2,700 
3.150 
2,200 

1810,  
1820,  ..... 

1825 

1830,  

1835,  
1840,  

1845 

1846 

1847            .     .    . 

1848 

1849,       .... 

1850 

1851,  

1852 

1853,  

In  order  still  farther  to  elucidate  the  remarkable  fluctua- 
tions which  have  taken  place  in  the  production  of  gold  since 


P  L  A  T  I N  A. 


149 


the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  a  third  table  is  appended, 
in  which  is  given  the  yield  of  the  principal  gold-producing 
'countries  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  in 
1845,  and  for  each  year  from  1850  to  1853,  the  blanks  in  the 
two  preceding  tables  being  filled,  where  necessary,  with  the 
amount  produced  in  the  nearest  year  for  which  returns  could 
be  obtained,  or  with  the  best  estimate  which  could  be  formed 
of  the  probable  quantity.  After  each  absolute  sum,  its  rela- 
tive weight,  in  comparison  with  the  grand  total  produced 
throughout  the  world,  is  given,  so  that  the  varying  impor- 
tance of  each  country  at  different  epochs,  in  regard  to  its 
yield  of  gold,  will  be  seen  at  a  glance. 


1SO( 

). 

1845 

1850. 

1851 

1852 

1853 

. 

Russian  Empire,. 
Austrian  Empire, 
Rest  of  Europe,  . 
Southern  Asia,  . 
Africa,  .... 

1,440 
I  3,500 

10,000 
660 

2-7 
6-5 

18-5 
1-2 

60,800 
5,400 
300 
20.000 
4,000 

470 
4-2 
0-3 
15-5 
3-1 

65.600 
5,  COO 
100 
25.000 
4,000 

20-6 
1-7 

'7-8 
1*2 

68.500 
5,650 
100 
25,000 
4,000 
30,000 

15-8 
1-3 

5-8 
1-0 
7'0 

64,000 
5.700 
100 
25,000 
4.000 
330,000 

8-9 
0-8 

3-6 

0-6 

4rvP 

64,000 
5,700 
100 
25.000 
4,000 
210.000 

108 
0-9 

4-2 

0-7 
35-2 

Chili 

1  500 

13-8 

2  850 

2-  2 

Bolivia,  .... 
Peru,  

New  Grenada,  . 
13ra7.il,  .... 

1,600 
2.400 
12,600 
10.000 

3-0 
44 

23-4 

18  5 

1.200 
1.900 
13.300 
5.100 

1-0 
1-5 

10-3 
4-0 

•   34.000 

10-8 

34;000 

7-8 

34,000 

4-7 

34,000 

5-7 

Mexico,  .... 

4.300 

8-0 

9,900 

7'6 

181  400 

570 

262  000 

fiO-7 

252.000 

a  5-1 

252.000 

42-2 

United  States,  . 

.      . 

•     . 

4.500 

33 

2;950 

0-9 

2,700 

0-6 

3,150 

0-5 

2,200 

0-3 

54.000 

129.250 

318.650 

431.950 

717.950 

597.000 

SECTION  IY. 


PLATIXA,  AND   ITS   ASSOCIATED   METALS. 

THE  occurrence  of  platlna  resembles  very  much  that  of 
gold,  with  which  it  is  generally  found  associated.  It  is 
one  of  a  family  or  group  of  metals,  which  have  a  striking 
likeness  to  each  other,  and  are  only  found  in  company. 
These  are  iridium,  rhodium,  osmium,  ruthenium,  and  palla- 
dium. The  first  four  of  these  metals  are  almost  inseparable 
from  platina,  and  closely  resemble  it  in  many  of  their  pro- 
perties :  palladium  differs  from  it  in  some  important  respects. 
They  are  distinguished  by  their  infusibility  at  any  but  the 
very  highest  temperatures,  their  high  specific  gravity,  and 


150  DISCOVERY    OF    PLATINA. 

their  insolubility  and  capability  of  resisting  the  action  of  air? 
moisture,  and  nearly  all  chemical  reagents. 

Platina,  as  it  occurs  in  nature,  is  usually  in  small  grains, 
although  it  is  sometimes  found  in  pieces  weighing  several 
pounds.  It  is  always  alloyed  with  other  metals,  and  gene- 
rally contains  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  iron  and  a  trace  of 
copper,  as  well  as  a  small  percentage  of  iridium,  rhodium, 
osmium,  and  palladium ;  the  platina  itself  usually  constitutes 
from  75  to  85  per  cent,  of  the  alloy.  This  metal  was  first 
brought  to  Europe  from  the  river  Pinto,  in  South  America, 
where  it  was  discovered  by  Ulloa,  about  1736.  It  was  then 
known  as  platina  del  Pinto,  platina  being  the  diminutive  of 
the  Spanish,  plata,  silver.  For  many  years  it  remained 
almost  useless,  on  account  of  the  very  property  which  now 
makes  it  invaluable  to  the  chemist  and  manufacturer,  its  in- 
fusibility.  It  was  not  until  Wollaston  introduced  the  method 
now  in  use  for  working  this  metal,  that  it  could  be  applied 
in  the  arts  to  any  extent.  This  process  consists  of  a  preci- 
pitation of  the  platina,  in  a  solution  effected  by  nitro-chloro- 
hydric  acid,  by  means  of  chloride  of  ammonium,  which 
throws  down  a  double  chloride  of  platina  and  ammonium, 
in  which  the  platina  can  be  reduced  to  the  metallic  state  by 
simple  ignition.  It  is,  as  thus  obtained,  in  the  form  of  a 
very  fine  black  powder,  which  is  strongly  heated  and  com- 
pressed in  steel  moulds,  and  thus  welded  together,  and  after- 
wards hammered  into  the  proper  shape.  Its  chief  use  is  in 
apparatus  for  purifying  sulphuric  acid ;  the  retorts  which 
are  constructed  from  it  for  this  purpose  being  of  large  size 
and  very  costly.  Besides,  it  is  invaluable  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  analytical  chemist,  being  infusible,  and  not 
liable  to  be  acted  on  by  the  simple  acids ;  were  it  a  more 
common  metal,  it  might  be  used  to  great  advantage  in  many 
other  ways. 

The  metal,  when  chemically  pure,  is  harder  than  copper, 
but  softer  than  iron ;  it  is  extremely  ductile  and  tenacious, 
and  is  the  heaviest  substance  known,  being  about  21 J  times 
the  weight  of  water. 

Iridosmine. — This  is  an  alloy  of  the  metals  iridium  and 
osmium  in  varying  proportions,  which  is  usually  associated 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    PLATINA.  151 

with  native  platina.  It  is  of  a  tin-white  color,  and  exces- 
sively hard  and  heavy.  It  is  found  in  the  form  of  minute 
grains,  the  largest  of  which  sell  for  a  very  high  price,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  the  tips  of  gold  pens. 

Platin-iridium. — An  alloy  of  platina  and  iridium,  in  which 
the  iridium  largely  predominates.  Found  with  the  native 
platina  of  the  East  Indies. 

Ehodium  and  Ruthenium  have  not  been  found,  except  in 
minute  quantities,  alloyed  with  native  platina. 

Palladium. — This  metal  occurs  in  nearly  pure  grains  in 
Brazil,  associated  with  native  platina,  and  also  in  minute 
proportion  in  the  latter  substance  itself.  It  was  first  disco- 
vered by  Wollaston,  in  1808.  Quite  large  masses  were  for- 
merly bipught  from  Brazil.  Its  color  is  a  light  steel-gray, 
and  it  has  a  specific  gravity  of  a  little  over  11.  It  has  most 
of  the  valuable  properties  of  platina,  but  in  an  inferior  de- 
gree. It  is,  however,  soluble  in  nitric  acid. 

The  uses  to  which  it  has  been  put  are  very  limited ;  it  has 
been  employed,  in  a  few  instances,  in  the  construction  of 
instruments  for  chemical  and  physical  research ;  but  the  ad- 
vantages wThich  it  presents  over  other  metals  do  not  seem  to 
compensate  for  its  costliness. 

GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    PLATINA   AND    THE    ASSOCIATED    METALS. 

This  family  of  metals  is  of  rare  occurrence,  and  has  a 
marked  geological  position.  For  a  long  time  they  were  only 
found  in  the  gold-bearing  alluvia,  having  been  accidentally 
discovered  in  washing  for  that  metal ;  but  they  were  dis- 
covered in  place  in  the  province  of  Choco,  in  New  Grenada, 
by  Boussingault,  in  1825,  and,  since  that  time,  they  have 
been  detected  in  their  native  bed  in  the  Ural,  and  other  locali- 
ties. The  platiniferous  rocks  all  have  a  similar  character, 
and  consist  of  greenstone,  diorite,  or  a  similar  igneous 
eruptive  rock,  through  which  the  platina  is  disseminated  in 
grains  and  small  masses.  In  the  Ural,  the  rock  in  which  it 
occurs  is  apparently  a  serpentine.  A  very  large  quantity  of 
chromic  iron  is  found  in  the  washings,  from  which  the  pla- 
tina is  obtained,  this  being  a  mineral  which  ordinarily  occurs 
in  serpentine.  At  Nijny  Tagilsk  the  platiniferous  detritus  is 


152  LOCALITIES    OF    PLATINA. 

composed  mainly  of  pebbles  of  serpentine,  intermixed  with 
chromic  iron ;  and  Le  Play  has  proved  that  the  platiniferous 
alluvia  are  only  found  near  masses  of  serpentine,  from  which 
rock  he  even  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  small  quantity  of  the 
metal  by  careful  washings.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  this 
metal  is  very  little  concentrated ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  dis- 
seminated through  the  rock  in  such  a  manner  that  it  never 
could  have  been  collected  in  any  perceptible  quantity  had 
not  natural  causes,  as  is  the  case  with  gold,  performed  the 
washing  process  on  an  immense  scale,  removing  a  compara- 
tively great  amount  of  rock,  and  leaving  the  heavy,  unoxi- 
dizable  metal,  which  it  contained,  so  concentrated  near  its 
original  position,  as  to  be  quite  easily  gathered. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION    OF    PLATINA. 

EUSSIAN  EMPIRE. — Although  platina  was  not  discovered 
in  Russia  until  nearly  a  hundred  years  after  it  had  been 
found  in  South  America,  the  quantity  obtained  there  has 
much  exceeded  that  from  all  other  sources.  The  mode  of 
its  occurrence  has  already  been  spoken  of.  The  gold 
washers  first  began  to  notice  it  about  1819,  at  the  mines  of 
ISTeiwin,  and  they  called  the  platina  grains  white  gold.*  They 
were  not  recognized,  however,  by  any  one  as  platina,  until 
1823,  when  Prof.  Lubarski,  at  St.  Petersburg,  determined 
their  true  character. 

According  to  G.  Rose,f  platina  is  widely  distributed  through 
the  Ural  Mountains.  It  occurs  in  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  chain,  at  Bogoslowsk  and  Kuschwinsk ;  towards  the 
middle,  especially  at  Newjansk  and  Werch-Issetsk ;  and  in 
the  southern  districts,  near  Kyschtimsk  and  Miask.  It  has 
been  remarked,  that  it  is  chiefly  found  in  the  western  slope 
of  the  Ural,  while  the  gold  exists  on  the  eastern  side  in  the 
largest  quantities.  By  far  the  largest  portion  of  this  metal 
has  been  obtained  at  Mjny  Tagilsk;  and  next  to  that  locality, 
at  Goro  Blagodat,  near  Kuschwinsk.  The  largest  nugget 
ever  found  was  from  the  former  locality ;  it  weighed  22*33 
Ibs.  troy. 

*  Humboldt  in  Pogg.  Annal.  vii.  517.  f  Reise  nach  clem  Ural,  ii.  389. 


PLATINA    IN    FRANCE  —  GERMANY.  153 

The  whole  amount  of  native  platina  obtained,  from  its 
first  discovery  in  1824  up  to  1851,  was  2061  poods  (90,451 
Ibs.  troy),  of  which  1990  poods  were  from  the  washings  of 
Nijny  Tagilsk.  The  washings,  at  this  locality,  yielded,  in 
1828,  91  poods  (3993  Ibs.  troy),  averaging  40  zolotniks  to  100 
poods  of  sand,  or  -01  per  cent.  The  yield  per  annum  of  the 
Russian  washings,  during  the  years  from  1827  to  1834, 
which  seem  to  have  been  the  most  productive  in  this  metal, 
was  from  4000  to  5000  Ibs.  troy.  Up  to  1845,  platina  was 
coined  in  the  Russian  mint,  but  the  use  of  it  for  that  purpose 
was  dropped  at  that  time,  and  the  produce  has  greatly  fallen 
off,  the  locality  of  Mjny  Tagilsk,  formerly  so  rich,  having 
ceased  to  be  worked  altogether.  The  whole  produce  of 
Russia  is  said  to  have  amounted,  in  1847,  to  only  2  poods,  or 
87*7  Ibs  ;  and  in  the  following  year  to  very  little  more.  It 
is  mostly  exported  to  France. 

FRANCE. — The  existence  of  platina  in  France  is  but  a 
matter  of  scientific  interest  thus  far,  as  it  has  been  found 
only  in  minute  quantity.  It  was  first  discovered  in  the  de- 
partments of  La  Charente  and  Deux-Sevres,  in  the  smallest 
possible  quantity,  in  brown  hematite  ore.*  Since  that  time, 
in  1847,  M.  Gueymard  has  found  it  in  the  Alps,  on  the 
mountain  called  the  Chapeau,  in  the  department  of  the 
Hautes  Alpes.f  Here  it  occurs,  associated  with  gray  copper 
ore,  in  a  metamorphic  limestone.  The  ores  contain  consi- 
derable silver,  as  well  as  antimony,  lead,  zinc,  and  other 
metals.  It  has  since  been  discovered  at  four  different  points 
in  the  French  Alps,  at  considerable  distances  from  each 
other.  The  quantity  thus  far  obtained  has  only  been  very 
minute,  and  not  by  any  means  sufficient  to  make  the  exis- 
tence of  this  metal  in  France  of  any  commercial  importance., 

GERMANY. — In  1848,  Prof.  Pettenkofer  in  Munich,  made 
the  interesting  discovery  that  the  old  Brabant  coins,  called 
"Kronen thaler,"  which  were  worked  up  in  large  quantities 
in  the  mint  at  Munich  in  order  to  separate  the  gold  which 
they  contained,  were  platiniferous.J  It  had  been  frequently 
observed  that,  in  separating  gold  from  silver  in  the  moist 

*  Llnstitut.  No.  40,  p.  102.  t  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xvi.  495. 

J  Pogg.  Annal.  Ixxiv.  316. 


154         PLATINA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIES. 

way,  certain  silvery-looking  particles  could  not  be  dissolved 
either  in  boiling  sulphuric  or  nitric  acids.  This  was  found, 
on  examination,  to  be  owing  to  the  presence  of  platina ;  100 
parts  of  the  gold  which  remained  undissolved  containing  on 
the  average  gold  97,  silver  2-8,  platina  0-2.  These  dollars 
were  coined  before  platina  had  come  into  use  at  all,  and  it  is 
evident  that  this  metal  must  have  formed  a  portion  of  the 
argentiferous  ores  from  which  they  were  derived. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Pettenkofer,  that  platina  was  present 
in  quite  perceptible  quantity  in  almost  all  the  German  silver 
coinage ;  and  he  estimated  its  average  amount  in  the  coins 
melted  at  the  Munich  mint  at  -01  per  cent.  He  also  sug- 
gested a  process  by  which  he  considered  it  possible  to  separate 
this  very  small  quantity  with  profit ;  and  actually  produced, 
from  the  slags  of  the  year  1847,  fifteen  ounces  of  pure  platina. 

SPAIN. — Vauquelin  is  said  to  have  obtained  platina  from 
the  argentiferous  lead  and  copper  ores  of  Guadalcanal.  No 
farther  confirmation  of  his  results  have  yet  been  had ;  but, 
since  the  discoveries  of  Pettenkofer,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  this  metal  may  be  present  in  small  quantity  in 
many  silver  ores. 

EAST  INDIA. — Although  it  is  quite  difficult  to  procure  any 
reliable  statistics  of  the  metallic  produce  of  the  southeastern 
portion  of  Asia  and  the  adjacent  islands,  it  seems  evident 
that  platina  occurs  throughout  that  part  of  the  world  in  com- 
paratively large  quantities.  It  was  discovered  in  Ava  (Bur- 
man  Empire)  in  1830,*  in  an  artificial  alloy,  and  afterwards 
in  the  native  state.  It  occurs  in  the  gold-bearing  alluvia,  as- 
sociated with  spinel,  emerald,  quartz,  and  magnetic  iron  sand. 

BORNEO. — This  island,  so  rich  in  metals,  seems  also  able 
to  supply  a  great  quantity  of  platina.  According  to  Dr. 
Ludwig  Horner  it  occurs  on  the  southeastern  end  of  the  island, 
where  the  rocks  are  chiefly  serpentine,  diorite,  and  gabbro. 
In  the  district  of  Pulo-Arif  these  rocks  are  covered,  in  the 
valley  and  along  the  river,  with  a  deposit  of  clay  from  ten  to 
twenty  feet  thick,  under  which  is  an  auriferous  bed,  not 
sharply  defined,  but  varying  from  one  to  four  feet  in  thick- 

*  Asiatic  Researches,  xviii.pt.  2,  p.  279. 
fZeitschrift  der  Deutsch.  Geol.  Gesellschaft,  ii.  408. 


IN    SOUTH    AMERICA.  155 

ness.  This  stratum  contains,  together  with  magnetic  iron 
sand,  grains  of  platina  and  iridosmine.  Diamonds  are  also 
obtained  here,  and,  according  to  Dr.  Horner,  in  the  washings 
carried  on  for  the  purpose  of  finding  these  precious  gems,  a 
large  quantity  of  platina  is  obtained  and  allowed  to  remain 
useless,  not  being  exported.  It  is  said  that  the  amount  of 
this  metal  washed  out  is  equal  to  one-tenth  of  the  weight  of 
the  gold  obtained. 

More  recently  the  value  of  this  metal  has  begun  to  be 
better  understood,  and  a  considerable  quantity  is  furnished 
to  commerce  by  this  island,  but  there  do  not  seem  to  be  any 
reliable  statistics  of  its  amount. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. — The  first  discovery  of  platina  was  made 
in  South  America,  and  for  a  long  time  this  continent  fur- 
nished all  of  this  metal  that  was  known.  The  gold  washings 
of  Choco  and  Barbacoas,  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Andes, 
were  the  first  to  yield  platina,  and  it  was  afterwards  found  at 
numerous  points  along  the  flank  of  the  Cordilleras,  from  the 
second  to  the  sixth  degree  of  north  latitude.  The  districts 
which  furnished  the  largest  quantity  were  those  of  Condoto, 
in  the  province  of  Novita,  Santa  Rita,  Santa  Lucia,  Iro  and 
Apoto.  For  a  long  time  that  which  wras  washed  out  was 
thrown  away,  under  the  mistaken  idea  that  it  might  be  used 
to  debase  the  gold,  its  chemical  properties  and  consequent 
commercial  value  being  then  entirely  unknown.  For  many 
years  the  occurrence  of  this  metal  in  the  rock  and  its  geolo- 
gical associations  were  not  understood ;  but,  in  1825-6,  Bous- 
singault  succeeded  in  detecting  it  in  place  at  the  gold  mines 
of  Santa  de  Osos,  in  the  province  of  Antioquia.  At  that 
point  the  gold  was  worked  in  quartz  veins  in  a  decomposed 
sienite,  the  quartz  being  associated  with  hydrated  oxide  of 
iron  in  large  quantities.  The  gold  and  platina  occur  under 
precisely  similar  circumstances  at  this  locality.  There  is 
very  little  platina  coming  from  this  region  at  the  present 
time  ;  but  it  seems  quite  impossible  to  procure  any  accurate 
statistics  of  this  metal.  Brazil  has  also  furnished  a  large 
quantity  of  platina  from  its  gold  washings,  especially  those 
of  Matto  Grosso.  In  that  country  it  is  associated  with  palla- 
dium as  well  as  with  gold  and  diamonds. 


156       PLATINA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  whole  amount  of  the  metal  obtained  from  the  western 
continent  was  estimated  by  Boussingault,  some  twenty  years 
since,  at  between  800  and  900  Ibs.  per  annum.  Brazil  still 
furnishes  a  small  quantity,  but  it  seems  to  be  decreasing,  and 
it  is  probable  that  we  shall  have  to  look  to  the  East  Indies 
for  farther  supplies  of  this  essential  metal. 

The  island  of  Hayti  has  also  yielded  a  small  quantity  of 
platina,  which  was  obtained  from  the  sands  of  the  river 
Jacky. 

CANADA. — Platina  has  been  detected,  according  to  T.  S. 
Hunt,*  in  the  gold-washings  of  the  Riviere  du  Loup,  where 
it  is  found  sparingly  mixed  with  the  gold,  in  minute  scales 
and  grains.  Associated  with  it  were  found  small  plates  of 
iridosmine,  the  native  alloy  of  the  rare  metals  iridium  and 
osmium.  Specimens  of  these  metals  are  also  said  to  have 
been  obtained  on  the  Riviere  des  Plantes. 

UNITED  STATES. — According  to  Dr.  Genth,  traces  of  platina 
have  been  found  in  the  lead  and  copper  ores  of  Lancaster 
County,  Pennsylvania ;  but  no  grains  of  the  native  metal  are 
known  to  have  been  discovered  north  of  North  Carolina. 
In  that  state  a  single  grain  is  stated  by  Prof.  C.  U.  Shepardf 
to  have  been  obtained  in  Rutherford  County,  in  gold-wash- 
ings belonging  to  Mr.  T.  T.  Erwin.  The  grain  weighed 
2-541  grains,  and  had  a  specific  gravity  of  18. 

The  occurrence  of  platina  in  California,  associated  with 
the  gold,  has  been  repeatedly  noticed ;  but  it  has  not  been 
supposed  to  be  present  in  sufficient  quantity  to  become  an 
object  of  commercial  importance.  M.  Dillon,  Consul-Gene- 
ral  of  France  in  California,  in  an  official  communication,]: 
mentions  that  platina  is  found  almost  everywhere  in  connec- 
tion with  the  gold,  and  he  thinks  that  a  considerable  quantity 
might  be  obtained,  were  it  not  rejected  from  ignorance  of  its 
nature.  The  latest  official  report  of  the  United  States  Mint 
speaks  of  the  existence  of  an  appreciable  percentage  of  this 
metal  in  the  deposits  of  gold  received  from  Oregon  during  the 
year  1853.  I  was  informed  by  Prof.  Booth,  Melter  and  Refiner 

*  Geol.  Survey  of  Canada:  Report  of  Progress  for  1851-52,  p.  120. 
t  Sill.  Am.  Jour.  (2),  iv.  280. 
J  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  i.  598. 


STATISTICS.  157 

at  the  Philadelphia  Mint,  in  1852,  that  the  native  gold  received 
from  California,  did  contain  an  appreciable  trace  of  platina, 
but  not  a  sufficient  quantity  to  be  worthy  of  being  separated. 
No  statistics  of  the  production  or  consumption  of  platina 
can  be  given  beyond  the  value  of  the  amount  imported  into 
this  country,  which  was  as  follows : — 

1848, '  .  $12,778 

1849, 10,285 

1850, 11,283 

1851, 26,836 


CHAPTER  III. 

SILVER. 
SECTION  I. 

THE    MINERALOGICAL   OCCURRENCE   AND   GEOLOGICAL   POSITION    OF 

SILVER. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — Silver  occurs  in  nature  in 
the  following  forms  : — 

NATIVE    METALS    AND    ALLOYS. 

Native  Silver;  sometimes  almost  chemically  pure;  but 
usually  it  contains  copper,  gold,  platina,  bismuth,  antimony, 
or  other  metals.  Native  silver  occurs  very  frequently  in 
connection  with  the  usual  argentiferous  ores,  and  sometimes 
in  large  masses.  The  most  remarkable  have  been  obtained 
at  the  mines  of  Kongsberg,  in  Norway,  and  at  the  Freiberg 
Mine.  One  is  cited  from  the  former  locality  exceeding  500 
Ibs.  in  weight.  It  is  found  generally,  however,  in  arborescent 
and  filiform  shapes,  sometimes  looking  almost  like  a  bunch 
of  dark-colored  wool.  It  is  frequently  crystallized,  the  cube 
and  octohedron,  and  intermediate  forms,  being  most  usual. 
It  has  been  shown  that  native  gold  is  never  found  except  in 
association  with  silver;  and  sometimes  the  latter  metal  so 
predominates  over  the  gold,  that  the  alloy  might  be  called 
native  silver,  rather  than  native  gold.  Almost  all  the  silver 
obtained  from  the  ores  contains  gold,  but  generally  only  in 
minute  quantity.  • 

Bismuth  Silver. — An  alloy  of  silver  and  bismuth,  with  a 
little  copper  and  arsenic ;  a  rare  mineral  from  Chili. 


MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    OF    SILVER.       159 


AMALGAM. 


Native  Amalgam. — Not  a  very  unfrequent  combination. 
It  consists  of  one  atom  of  silver  and  two  or  three  of  mercury. 

There  is  an  amalgam  which  is  of  economical  importance ; 
it  is  found  in  the  mines  of  Arqueros,  in  Chili,  and  contains, 
according  to  Domeyko,  six  atoms  of  silver  to  one  of  mercury. 
Its  percentage  yield  is,  silver,  86*49,  mercury,  13*51.  In 
general  appearance  this  latter  variety  resembles  native  silver. 

ORES. 

The  ores  of  silver  which  are  of  the  greatest  interest  are 
the  following : — 

Silver  Grlance. — Vitreous  Sulphuret  of  Silver;  the  ore  of 
this  metal  which  is  of  the  greatest  economical  importance. 
When  pure,  it  contains  silver,  87*04,  sulphur,  12*96. 

Stephanite. — Brittle  Sulphuret  of  Silver.  The  next  ore  in 
importance ;  a  sulphuret  of  silver  and  antimony,  containing 
silver,  70*4,  antimony,  14*0,  and  sulphur,  15*6. 

Pyrargyrite. — Ruby  Silver.  An  important  ore  in  the 
Mexican  mines.  Its  composition,  when  pure,  is  silver,  58*98, 
antimony,  23*46,  sulphur,  17*56.  It  contains  the  same  sub- 
stances as  the  Stephanite,  but  in  different  proportions. 

Horn  Silver. — Chloride  of  Silver.  This  ore  contains  silver, 
75*33,  and  chlorine,  24*67.  It  is  somewhat  common  in  the 
Chilian  mines. 

Besides  these,  there  is  a  great  variety  of  other  combinations 
in  which  silver  occurs,  and  which  are  of  greater  or  less 
importance,  some  of  them  being  only  mineralogical  curiosi- 
ties. A  complete  list  of  the  known  combinations  is  appended. 

Sulpkurets,  Arseniurets,  Seleniurets,  and  Tellurets. 

1.  SILVER  GLANCE. 

2.  Hessite;  telluret  of  silver ;  found  only  in  Siberia. 

3.  Naumannite  ;  seleniuret  of  silver ;  occurs  in  the  Harz. 

4.  Eucairite;   seleniuret  of  copper  and  silver;  found  only  in  Sweden,  in 
minute  quantity. 

5.  Stromeyerite ;  sulphuret  of  copper  and  silver ;  rare. 

6.  Antimonial  Silver;  combination  of  silver  and  antimony;  more  common 
than  5,  but  not  abundant. 

7.  Flexible  silver  ore;  ferro-sulphuret  of  silver;  very  rare. 

8.  Sternbergite ;  sulphuret  of  silver  and  iron. 


160  GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    SILVER    ORES. 

9.  Miargyrite;  sulphuret  of  silver  and  antimony;  very  rare. 

10.  PYRARGYRITE. 

11.  Proustite;  light-red  silver  ore  ;  sulphuret  and  arseniuret  of  silver ;  occurs 
in  Saxony  and  Bohemia. 

12.  Freieslebenite ;  antimonial  sulphuret  of  lead  and  silver;  not  uncommon. 
It  contains  about  twenty -two  per  cent,  of  the  latter  metal. 

13.  Polybasite;  complex  combination  of  silver,  copper,  antimony,  arsenic, 
and  sulphur ;  not  unfrequent  in  Mexico. 

14.  STEPHANITE. 

15.  XantJiokon;  sulphuret  and  arseniuret  of  silver. 

Chlorides,  Iodides,  and  Bromides. 

1.  HORN  SILVER;  chloride  of  silver. 

2.  lodic  Silver;  rare ;  found  in  Mexico  and  Spain. 

3.  Bromic  Silver;  occurs  in  Mexico  and  Chili. 

4.  Embolite;  bromide  and  chloride  of  silver ;  very  rare. 

Carbonate. 
Selbite;  carbonate  of  silver;  rare. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  OF  THE  ORES  OF  SILVER. — As  already 
shown,  hardly  any  one  of  the  metals  presents  itself  under  a 
greater  variety  of  combinations,  and  its  mode  of  occurrence, 
in  a  geological  point  of  view,  is  equally  complex.  It  is  a 
metal  of  almost  universal  diffusion.  The  researches  of  Mala- 
guti  and  Durocher  have  shown  that,  out  of  219  specimens 
of  ores  taken  at  random,  only  one  in  seventeen  was  found 
destitute  of  silver.*  It  is  contained,  in  minute  traces,  in  the 
water  of  the  ocean  and  in  the  organic  kingdom.  With  gold 
and  lead  it  is  most  intimately  associated ;  the  fact  that  it  is 
never  absent  from  native  gold  has  already  been  mentioned, 
and  it  is  almost  equally  difficult  to  find  a  specimen  of  sul- 
phuret of  lead,  in  which  at  least  a  trace  of  it  may  not  be 
detected. 

The  silver  of  commerce  is  drawn  from  three  sources,  each 
one  of  which  requires  to  be  separately  considered.  One  of 
these,  the  native  alloy  of  gold  and  silver,  native  gold,  has 
already  been  sufficiently  illustrated  in  the  preceding  chapter 
— it  is  of  quite  subordinate  importance,  in  comparison  with 
the  entire  quantity  furnished  by  the  world.  But,  in  a  region 
where  the  yield  of  gold  is  very  large,  the  silver,  combined 

*  Ann.  de§  Mines  (4),  xvii.  3. 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    SILVER    ORES.         161 

with  it  may  amount  to  a  considerable  sum  in  value.  In  the 
United  States,  it  is  almost  the  only  source  from  which  the 
supply  of  this  metal  which  we  furnish  is  drawn ;  and,  without 
a  silver  mine  within  our  territory,  we  produce  as  much  of 
this  metal  as  Sweden,  Norway,  and  France  together,  from 
their  mines,  some  of  which  are  of  classic  celebrity. 

The  second  source  of  supply  for  silver  is  found  in  the 
mines  of  argentiferous  lead  ores,  which  are  so  numerous  in 
every  part  of  the  world.  Before  the  discovery  of  the  Mexi- 
can and  Peruvian  mines,  the  silver  obtained  in  this  way  was 
of  great  importance,  and  it  forms  still  a  notable  portion  of 
the  whole  amount  produced.  Of  the  silver  furnished  by 
Europe,  that  of  Russia,  Great  Britain,  the  Harz,  and  Spain 
is  derived  almost  exclusively  from  the  working  of  silver-lead 
ores.  This  branch  of  the  subject  will  be  considered  in  the 
chapter  devoted  to  Lead,  in  order  to  present,  at  one  view, 
all  the  important  facts  with  regard  to  the  occurrence  of  the 
two  metals. 

In  the  present  chapter,  only  those  mining  districts  will  be 
taken  up  where  the  ores  are  mainly  of  the  third  class,  namely, 
the  silver  ores  proper,  where  this  metal  predominates  in  im- 
portance over  those  associated  with  it.  On  the  American 
Continent,  Mexico  and  the  Cordilleras  of  South  America 
furnish  examples  of  this  mode  of  occurrence  of  pre-eminent 
magnitude ;  in  Europe,  on  the  other  hand,  the  only  mining 
districts  of  importance  in  which  the  silver  ores  are  worked 
by  themselves  to  any  considerable  extent,  are  those  of  the 
Erzgebirge  in  Saxony  and  Bohemia,  of  Norway,  and  of 
Hungary  and  Transylvania,  which  will  be  considered  in  the 
present  connection. 

The  ores  of  silver  have  a  wide  range  in  the  column  of 
geological  formations.  They  occur  in  true  fissure-veins  in 
the  oldest  crystalline  rocks,  and,  in  such  positions,  have  been 
worked  to  very  great  depths  without  appearing  to  diminish 
essentially  in  richness.  Of  this  form  of  occurrence,  the  mines 
of  Freiberg  and  Kongsberg  present  the  most  striking  ex- 
amples. The  great  bulk  of  the  silver  ores  of  South  America 
have,  however,  a  different  position,  being  in  the  calcareous 
rocks,  and  forming  segregated  veins  and  masses  parallel  with 

11 


162  SILVER    MINES    OF    NORWAY. 

the  stratification.  The  age  of  the  rocks  in  which  those  of 
Bolivia  and  Peru  are  included  seems  to  be  that  of  the  car- 
boniferous. In  Chili  the  stratified  rocks,  in  which  the  ores 
of  silver  are  chiefly  developed,  belong  to  the  cretaceous  for- 
mation. The  particulars  of  their  position  will  be  given  in 
the  following  section. 


SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF   SILVER   ORES. 

THE  great  source  of  the  silver  of  the  world  is  the  Ameri- 
can continent,  and  its  discovery  brought  about  a  complete 
revolution  in  the  relative  production  of  the  precious  metals, 
and  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  commerce  and  prices. 
Previous,  however,  to  the  discovery  of  America,  there  were 
silver  mines  worked  in  Europe,  which  are  still  furnishing  a 
quantity  of  the  metal  not  entirely  insignificant,  and  which 
have  formerly  been  of  great  importance.  Among  the  most 
interesting  are  those  of  Kongsberg,  which  will  be  first 
noticed. 

NORWAY. — The  celebrated  mine  of  Kongsberg  was  dis- 
covered in  1623,  and  has  been  worked,  with  some  interrup- 
tions, and  with  varying  success,  up  to  this  time.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it  was  peculiarly  pros- 
perous. From  the  middle  of  that  century  to  1830,  it  lan- 
guished along,  under  the  direction  of  the  government,  which 
vainly  attempted  to  dispose  of  it  to  a  private  company. 
From  that  period,  however,  a  great  improvement  took  place, 
and  the  works  became  very  profitable,  and  continued  so  up 
to  the  present  time,  in  a  considerable  degree.  The  whole 
production  of  the  Kongsberg  mines,  in  silver,  was : — 

From     1624  to  1805,.     .     .     .     2,360,140  marks,  =  1,580,800  Ibs.  troy. 

1805  to  1815,.     .     .     .          38,012       «  25,460 

"         1815  to  1834, .     .     .     .        114,374       «  76,600        " 

2,512,526 

And  in  1835,      ..........     21,700  marks,  ==  14,535  Ibs.  troy. 

1836, 31,242      «  20,924       « 

1837, 23,240      «  15,560       " 


SAXONY  —  BOHEMIA.  163 

For  the  five  years  from  1849  to  1853,  the  average  annual 
profits  have  been  about  $160,000,  the  average  production  in 
that  period  being  16,971  Ibs.  per  annum,  and  the  total  pro- 
duction 126,622  marks,  or  84,857  Ibs. 

These  mines  are  situated  in  the  crystalline  slates,  which 
probably  belong  to  the  azoic  period.  Their  direction  is 
nearly  north  and  south.  The  position  of  the  silver  ore  in 
these  slates  is  exceedingly  curious,  and  has  already  been 
alluded  to  in  a  previous  chapter.* 

The  peculiar  mode  of  occurrence,  in  veins  which  are  only 
productive  when  they  cross  the  comparatively  narrow  fahl- 
bands,  renders  mining  very  expensive,  since  the  veins  are 
narrow,  and  the  productive  portion  of  them  very  limited  in 
extent ;  thus  the  workings  are  out  of  all  proportion  of  length 
to  their  depth. 

SAXONY  AND  BOHEMIA. — The  chain  of  the  Erzgebirge,  which 
separates  Saxony  from  Bohemia,  extends  for  a  distance  of  a 
hundred  miles,  in  a  direction  from  north  55°  west  to  south  55° 
east.  On  the  Saxon  side,  it  slopes  gradually  to  the  north ;  but 
its  southern  declivities  are  steep  and  deeply  ravined.  The 
elevation  above  the  sea  of  the  highest  points  of  this  chain 
does  not  surpass  5000  feet.  On  both  sides  of  the  dividing  line 
mines  have  been  wrought  for  many  hundred  years,  which 
are  hardly  surpassed  in  interest  by  any  in  the  world ;  since, 
even  if  their  produce  is  but  small  when  compared  with  that 
of  the  Mexican  and  South  American  silver  mines,  yet  the 
great  number  and  complexity  of  the  systems  of  vein-fissures, 
the  vast  extent  and  depth  of  the  workings  upon  them,  and 
the  skill  with  which  they  have  been  developed,  make  them 
of  peculiar  importance  to  the  mining  engineer. 

The  commencement  of  mining  operations  in  this  district 
is  said  to  date  back  to  early  in  the  tenth  century ;  but  the 
authentic  records  go  no  farther  back  than  to  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century,  when  the  still  rich  mines  of  the  Freiberg 
district  began  to  be  worked.  The  Thirty  Years'  "War  had  a 
ruinous  effect  on  the  Saxon  mines,  and  many  of  the  mining 
towns  were  entirely  destroyed ;  some  of  which,  up  to  this 
time,  have  never  recovered  their  former  prosperity. 

*  See  page  42. 


164  FREIBERG    MINING    DISTRICT. 

The  rock  in  which  these  mines  occur  is  almost  exclusively 
gneiss,  with  a  few  intercalated  beds  of  quartz-rock,  and  masses 
of  porphyry,  subordinate  to  those  forming  the  principal  crest 
of  the  mountains. 

The  principal  mining  centres  are  Freiberg,  Johann- 
Georgenstadt,  Marienberg,  Annaberg  and  Schneeberg,  and 
Schwarzenberg  in  Saxony,  and  Joachimsthal  and  Bleistadt 
in  Bohemia,  Of  these,  Freiberg  is  of  by  far  the  most  im- 
portance ;  since  it  produces  nine-tenths  of  the  silver  of 
Saxony,  and  about  three-fourths  of  the  whole  yield  of  the 
Erzgebirge  in  that  metal.  The  number  of  veins  ascertained 
to  exist  in  this  district  is  over  900.  They  were  divided  by 
Yon  Weissenbach  into  four  classes,  according  to  the  nature 
of  their  gangues,  as  follows : 

1.  Quartz  veins  with  iron  pyrites,  blende,  galena,  and  mis- 
pickel ;  ores  of  silver  of  moderate  percentage. 

2.  Brown-spar  veins,  with  the  same  ores  as  the  preceding, 
but  richer  in  silver. 

3.  Veins  with  gangues  of  oxide  and  carbonate  of  iron, 
fluor-spar  and  heavy  spar ;  not  so  metalliferous  as  1  and  2. 
These  veins  sometimes  pass  into  the  Zechstein  formation. 

4.  Veins  with  calcareous  gangues,  sometimes  carrying  rich 
ores. 

The  characters  of  the  different  systems  of  veins  do  not, 
however,  seem  to  be  so  strongly  marked  that  any  division  of 
them  into  systems  as  above  can  be  considered  as  absolute. 

The  Freiberg  mines  furnish  the  most  interesting  example 
which  can  be  given  of  the  persistence  of  the  veins  in  richness 
at  a  considerable  depth.  Their  mean  depth  is  from  1000 
to  1300  feet,  and  it  is  constantly  increasing,  although  the 
machinery  at  present  in  use,  according  to  Burat,*  is  not 
capable  of  allowing  the  works  to  be  extended  much  farther. 
A  few  years  since,  it  was  proposed  to  drain  this  district  by  an 
adit-level,  of  the  extraordinary  length  of  twenty-four  miles, 
driven  from  the  river  Elbe,  which  would  cut  the  veins  at  a 
mean  depth  of  nearly  2000  feet.  This  plan  was  vigorously 
supported  by  Von  Beust  and  other  distinguished  mining 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xi.  27. 


YIELD    OF    SILVER.  165 

engineers,  and  received  the  sanction  of  the  Saxon  govern- 
ment, thus  indicating,  on  the  part  of  those  hest  qualified  to 
judge,  an  entire  confidence  in  the  future  permanence  of  the 
richness  of  the  veins  at  great  depths.  In  connection  with 
this  fact  it  should  be  noticed  that  in  no  mining  district  in 
the  world  do  the  metalliferous  deposits  bear  more  strongly 
the  character  of  true  fissure-veins  than  here.  This  gigantic 
work  has  not  yet  been  commenced,  on  account  of  the  expense 
and  the  length  of  time  required  for  its  completion ;  but  a 
deep  adit  is  now  driving  to  drain  the  southern  part  of  the 
Freiberg  district,  at  a  depth  of  400  feet  below  the  lowest  point 
reached  by  the  present  system  of  drainage.  This  very  exten- 
sive work,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  forerunner  of  the 
great  Elbe  adit,  commences  on  a  small  stream  called  the 
Triebsche,  near  the  village  of  Rothschonberg,  and  is  to  ex- 
tend a  little  over  eight  miles,  so  as  to  communicate  with  all 
the  mines  of  the  upper  part  of  the  district.  The  adit  is  a  little 
over  eight  feet  wide,  nearly  ten  feet  high,  and  rises  in  the 
whole  distance  12-6  feet. 

The  ores  of  the  Freiberg  mines  are  the  various  sulphurets, 
especially  vitreous  silver,  pyrargyrite  or  dark-red  silver  ore, 
light-red  silver  ore  (rothgultigerz),  Freieslebenite,  Stephanite, 
or  brittle  sulphuret  of  silver,  and  native  silver ;  the  latter  in 
some  instances  in  large  masses.  Besides  these,  there  is 
argentiferous  galena  in  some  quantity. 

The  entire  yield  of  silver  from  the  mines  of  the  Freiberg 
district,  from  1524,  back  to  which  period  accurate  registers 
of  the  amount  produced  extend,  up  to  the  end  of  1850,  was 
8,961,251  marks,  or  5,611,900  Ibs.  troy.  As  a  general  rule, 
the  amount  produced  by  these  mines  has  always  been 
larger  as  their  depth  increased,  although  there  have  been 
many  fluctuations  in  the  yield  of  the  different  veins.  Thus, 
at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  Heron  de  Villefosse's  great 
work,  "  Sur  la  Eichesse  Minerale,"  the  mine  of  Himmelfurst, 
the  workings  of  which  are  on  several  veins,  was  the  most  pro- 
ductive ;  so  regularly  so,  that  it  divided  thirty-two  dollars  quar- 
terly on  each  share,  for  sixty-three  years  in  succession ;  since 
1831,  however,  it  has  fallen  off  considerably.  The  annexed 


166     SILVER    MINES    OF    THE    AUSTRIAN    EMPIRE. 

table  shows  the  ratio  of  the  profits  to  the  amount  of  silver 
produced  by  this  mine  for  the  periods  specified  :* — 

Yalue  of  silver 
Profit,    produced. 

1624  to  1S50, 1  :  7-82 

1748  to  1850, 1  :  8'03 

1769  to  1831, 1  :  6'63 

Since  1830,  the  mine  of  Himmelfahrt  has  occupied  the  first 
rank,  producing  from  that  time  up  to  1850,  234,469  marks, 
or  146,824  Ibs.  troy,  of  silver,  and  paying  a  profit  which  was 
to  that  quantity  of  silver  in  the  ratio  of  1  :  22'355. 

It  is  most  interesting  to  observe  that  although  the  amount 
of  silver  produced  in  the  Freiberg  mines  is  on  the  whole  in- 
creasing, yet  the  profits  are  rather  falling  off,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  some  favorable  years,  of  such  as  1847  and  1850.  This 
is  shown  by  the  following  statement : — 

Periods.  Ratio  of  profits  to  amount 

of  silver  produced. 

1530  to  1629, 1  :     5-512 

1710  to  1763, 1  :  10-06 

1764  to  1850, 1  :  20-10 

1530  to  1850, 1  :  10-606 

This  decreased  profit  seems  to  be  principally  due  to  the  in- 
creased expense  of  working  the  mines  at  so  great  depths, 
rather  than  to  any  falling  off  in  the  average  yield  of  the  ores. 

The  districts  of  Marienberg  and  Schneeberg  were  formerly 
of  much  more  importance  for  silver  than  they  now  are.  In 
the  Annaberg  district  the  production  amounted  in  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one  years,  from  1654  to  1845,  to  5,842,046 
thalers  in  value  ;  but  the  veins  are  not  by  any  means  as  pro- 
ductive in  depth  as  those  of  Freiberg.  The  whole  amount 
of  silver  furnished  by  the  Saxon  mines  was,  in  1851,  59,798 
Ibs. ;  and  it  has  not  varied  much  from  that  for  the  last  fifty 
years. 

AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. — This  country  produces  more  silver 

*  Gatzschmann,  Vergleichende  Uebersicht  der  Ausbeute  und  des  wiedererstatte- 
ten  Verlages,  welche  vom  Jahre  1530  an  bis  zum  Jahre  1850,  im  Freiberger 
Revier  vertheilt  wurden. 


HUNGARY.  167 

than  any  other  in  Europe,  with  the  exception  of  Spain.  The 
mines  of  the  metal  are  chiefly  in  Bohemia,  as  already  noticed 
in  describing  the  Erzgebirge,  under  the  head  of  Saxony,  and 
in  Hungary  and  Transylvania.  The  average  annual  yield  of 
the  different  provinces  of  the  Empire,  and  their  relative  pro- 
duction in  percentage,  for  the  period  between  1843  and  1847, 
were  as  follows : — 

Hungary,     ....  70,379  marks,  or  04*9  per  cent. 

Bohemia,     ....  29,804          "         27*5        " 

Transylvania,      .         .         .  5,794          "  5'2         " 

Tyrol,  Styria,  &c.,         .         .  2,279          u  2-1         " 

108,250  100-0 

The  district  of  Joachimsthal,  on  the  Bohemian  side  of  the 
Erzgebirge,  is  of  great  interest,  from  the  regularity  and  the 
great  number  of  the  veins  which  are  there  concentrated  into 
a  small  space.  There  are  two  very  distinct  directions  of 
fracture ;  one  running  east  and  west,  and  the  others  north 
and  south.  Those  of  the  latter  direction  are  of  two  ages,  one 
set  of  them  being  heaved  by  the  east  and  west  veins,  and  the 
other  set  traversing  them.  They  are  accompanied  by  dykes 
of  trappean  rock,  which  run  parallel  with  and  are  intimately 
connected  with  them.  The  ores  of  silver  are  associated  here, 
as  on  the  other  slope,  with  those  of  nickel,  uranium,  bismuth, 
and  cobalt. 

Hungary. — The  interesting  mining  region  of  Hungary  is 
divided  into  four  districts,  namely,  Upper  Hungary,  Lower 
Hungary,  Nagybdnya,  and  the  Banat.*  The  mines  of  Lower 
Hungary,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cities  of  Schemnitz,  Krem- 
nitz,  and  Neusohl,  are  still  of  very  considerable  importance, 
although  much  fallen  off  from  what  they  once  were. 

Schmollnitz,  in  Upper  Hungary,  and  Orawicza  and  Szaska, 
in  the  Banat,  offer  examples  of  the  treatment  of  copper  ores 
of  a  very  low  percentage,  and  of  a  metallurgic  process  not 
elsewhere  employed,  the  separation  of  silver  from  the  black 
copper  by  amalgamation. 

There  are  also  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Nagyba'nya,  on  the 

*  Audibert,  Ann.  cles  Mines  (4),  vii.  85,  and  Rivot  and  Duchanoy  (5),  iii.  68. 


168  MIKES    OF    HUNGARY. 

western  limits  of  Transylvania,  which  produce  a  considerable 
amount  of  silver. 

The  veins  in  the  neighborhood  of  Schemnitz  are  in  a  rock, 
called  by  the  Germans  greenstone-porphyry  ;  it  is  a  mixture 
of  hornblende  and  feldspar.  The  greenstone  is  surrounded 
by  trachyte,  in  which  the  veins  have  not  been  found  produc- 
tive. There  are  seven  principal  lodes  in  one  group,  which 
pursue  a  nearly  parallel  course,  and  are  distant  from  1000  to 
2000  feet  from  each  other.  The  principal  one,  the  Spitaler- 
gang,  is  known  to  extend  for  about  3  miles ;  it  is  from  12  to 
22  feet  in  width,  and  has  this  peculiarity,  in  common  with 
the  other  adjacent  veins,  that  its  western  end  yields  only  ores 
of  silver,  while  in  the  eastern  portion  the  predominating  ore 
is  galena;  which  seems,  in  fact,  to  take  the  place  of  the 
silver  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  vein,  where  the 
workings  have  been  extended  to  a  considerable  depth. 

At  the  "Windschacht,  the  depth  attained  is  about  160 
fathoms,  and  at  this  depth  the  ores  are  still  chiefly  those  of 
silver,  and  are  disseminated  in  bunches  through  the  feld- 
spathic  veinstone. 

The  Biebergang  is  now  pretty  much  exhausted,  but  has 
produced  immensely.  It  has  been  worked  to  a  depth  which 
exceeds  1300  feet,  and  over  a  linear  extent  of  more  than  three 
miles.  The  width  is  never  less  than  sixty  feet.  The  other 
principal  veins,  namely,  the  "Wolfsgang,  Theresiengang, 
Ochsenkopfgang,  Johanngang,  Stephangang,  and  Grlinergang 
seem  all  to  have  lost  a  large  part  of  their  richness  in  silver 
as  they  have  been  worked  down  upon,  the  galena  becoming 
less  and  less  argentiferous,  as  the  depth  increases. 

As  an  instance  of  the  gigantic  scale  on  which  the  mining 
works  are  laid  out,  the  adit-level  commenced  in  1782  may  be 
mentioned.  Its  object  is  to  drain  the  Schemnitz  mines,  and 
it  is  intended  to  be  nearly  nine  miles  long.  In  August,  1850, 
it  was  about  two-thirds  completed,  at  an  expense  of  2,112,016 
florins,  about  $1,000,000,  having  cost  about  $200  per  fathom. 
It  is  expected  to  be  completed  in  about  ten  years,  and  will, 
with  the  help  of  the  powerful  hydraulic  machines  used  in 
that  region,  enable  the  workings  to  be  carried  to  a  depth  of 
over  230  fathoms. 


SILVER    MINES    OF    SOUTH    AMERICA.  169 

SOUTH  AMERICA. — The  argentiferous  veins  of  that  portion 
of  South  America  which  now  constitutes  the  republics  of 
Peru  and  Bolivia  are  next  in  interest  and  extent  to  those  of 
Mexico ;  they  are  perhaps  even  more  capable  of  producing 
silver  in  immense  quantities  than  those  of  the  latter  country, 
as  far  as  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  ores  is  concerned, 
but  their  elevated  position  prevents  their  development,  since 
no  one,  not  goaded  by  an  irresistible  desire  for  riches,  would 
live  in  such  a  desolate  and  frozen  region  as  that  of  the  argen- 
tiferous districts  of  the  South  American  Andes.  The  mines 
of  Potosi  are  worked  at  an  elevation  greater  than  that  of 
Mont  Blanc  itself. 

PERU. — The  mines  of  Cerro  de  Pasco  are  the  most  re- 
markable of  this  country,  and  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  the 
others.  The  principal  ores  are  the  pacos  so  called,  analogous 
to  the  colorados  of  the  Mexican  miners :  they  are  ferruginous 
earths,  mingled  with  argentiferous  ores,  and  evidently  result- 
ing from  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphurets.  M.  de  Rivero 
considers  the  pacos  of  Santa  Rosa,  one  of  the  richest  mines  in 
the  Pasco  district,  not  to  be  in  a  true  vein,  but  a  bed,  since 
it  is  parallel  with  the  formation,  the  hanging  and  the  foot 
walls  being  of  different  character,  and  the  gangues  having  no 
crystalline  or  comby  structure.*  All  these  deposits  have 
grown  sensibly  poorer  in  descending  upon  them.  The  tenor 
of  the  ores,  which  at  the  surface  sometimes  amounted  to  0-3 
and  averaged  0*0015,  now  hardly  surpasses  0'0004.  These 
deposits  appear  to  be  less  to  be  depended  on  in  depth  than 
the  true  veins  of  Mexico,  but  their  development  superficially 
is  enormous.  Their  exact  geological  position  is  not  to  be 
made  out  from  the  descriptions  yet  given,  but  they  seem  to 
be  included  in  strata  of  the  carboniferous  epoch. 

The  mines  of  Yauricocha,  or  Pasco,  were  discovered,  by 
accident,  in  1630,  and  were  among  the  worst-worked,  as  well 
as  the  richest,  in  the  world.  At  one  time,  300  miners  were 
killed  by  the  falling  in  of  a  mine,  since  called  the  Matagente 
(Kill-people).  The  town  of  Cerro  de  Pasco,  which  some- 
times, when  the  mines  are  prosperous,  contains  18,000  inhab- 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (3),  ii.  169. 


170  SILVER    MINES    OF    PERU. 

itants,  is  13,673  feet  above  the  sea.  According  to  Tschudi,* 
there  are  two  very  remarkable  argentiferous  veins.  One  of 
them,  the  Veta  de  Colquirirca,  runs  nearly  in  a  straight  line 
from  north  to  south,  and  has  already  been  traced  to  the 
length  of  9600  and  the  breadth  of  412  feet ;  the  other  is  the 
Veta  de  Pariarirca,  which  takes  a  direction  from  east-south- 
east to  west-northwest,  and  intersects  the  Colquirirca  vein, 
as  is  supposed,  under  the  market-place  of  the  city.  Its 
known  extent  is  6400  feet  in  length  and  380  feet  in  breadth. 
In  1814,  for  the  first  time,  steam-engines  were  introduced 
for  drainage,f  but  the  acid  water  of  the  mine  soon  ruined 
the  iron-work,  so  that  one  by  one  they  gave  out,  and  in  1832 
only  one  was  still  at  work.  Notwithstanding  this,  within 
the  last  few  years,  some  progress  has  been  made  in  improving 
the  system  of  mining,  and  the  yield  of  silver  is  on  the  in- 
crease, the  produce  of  the  Pasco  mines  for  1851  being  about 
$2,000,000,  a  slight  increase  over  that  of  1850. 

The  total  amount  of  silver  smelted  at  the  principal  works 
of  Pasco,  from  1784  to  1827,  was  8,051,394  marks,  or  4,967,710 
Ibs.  troy. 

Besides  the  Pasco  mines,  there  are  numerous  other  mining 
districts  in  Peru,  especially  in  the  provinces  of  Pataz,  Hua- 
manchuco,  Caxamarca,  and  Hualgayoc.  In  the  Cerro  de 
San  Fernando,  belonging  to  the  latter  district,  there  were,  in 
1840,  some  1700  "  bocaminas"  (mine-openings).  There  are 
also  numerous  silver  mines  in  the  southern  provinces,  but 
the  amount  produced  is  small,  in  comparison  with  what  it 
might  be  expected  to  be,  when  the  richness  of  the  veins  is 
considered. 

Chevalier  estimated  the  yield  of  Peru  in  silver,  in  1845,  at 
a  little  over  300,000  Ibs.  troy.  Since  that  time,  there  has 

*  Travels  in  Peru,  Eng.  Trans,  p.  327. 

t  By  Uville,  a  Spanish  mining  engineer,  under  the  direction  of  Richard  Trevi- 
thick,  the  distinguished  Cornish  engineer,  nine  of  whose  engines  were  shipped  to 
Peru  at  that  time.  Trevithick  himself  visited  that  country  in  1817,  where  he  was 
received  with  the  highest  honors,  and  it  was  even  proposed  to  erect  a  statue  of 
him  in  solid  silver.  Afterwards,  in  consequence  of  political  dissensions  and  civil 
war,  he  was  forced  to  escape,  taking  with  him,  as  the  only  remnant  of  his  former 
wealth,  a  pair  of  silver  spurs. 


BOLIVIA.  171 

probably  been  some  increase,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
amount  now  produced  much  exceeds  the  above-named  sum* 

BOLIVIA.  —  The  mines  of  Potosi,  which  were  formerly 
within  the  viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ayres,  are  now  included 
in  the  republic  of  Bolivia.  They  are  so  well  known  for 
their  almost  fabulous  richness,  as  to  have  become  proverbial 
throughout  the  world.  The  quantity  of  silver  which  they 
have  poured  out,  since  their  discovery  in  1545  up  to  the 
present  time,  is  almost  incredible :  it  may  be  estimated, 
according  to  the  calculations  of  Humboldt  and  Chevalier, 
at  $1,200,000,000.  Thirty-two  principal  veins  have  been 
worked,  besides  numerous  smaller  ones,  which  intersect  the 
isolated  mountain,  called  the  "  Great  Potosi,"  or  Potocchi, 
whose  summit  rises  to  the  height  of  16,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  The  establishment  of  a  town,  which  at  one 
time  is  said  to  have  numbered  160,000  inhabitants,  at  an 
elevation  far  exceeding  that  of  Mont  Blanc,  is  one  of  the 
wonders  to  which  this  unheard  of  yield  of  silver  gave  rise. 
The  period  of  the  greatest  productiveness  of  the  Potosi 
mines  was  the  century  immediately  following  their  disco- 
very,  ores  of  the  most  astonishing  richness  and  abundance 
being  first  obtained  near  the  surface,  and  smelted  by  the  aid 
of  the  fuel  of  the  region,  until  the  introduction  of  the  amal- 
gamation process  by  Medina,  in  1571.  The  average  annual 
yield,  from  1545  to  1556,  was  about  $11,590,000,  and  that  at 
a  time  when  silver  was  over  six  times  as  valuable  as  now. 
After  the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  pro- 
duction began  to  decline ;  but,  even  at  the  end  of  that  cen- 
tury, it  still  amounted  to  between  three  and  four  millions  of 
dollars ;  and  during  the  eighteenth,  it  maintained  a  rank  only 
second  to  that  of  the  Mexican  mines,  yielding  nearly  twice 
as  much  as  all  the  European  mines  together.  The  present 
yield  of  the  Potosi  mines  is  estimated,  by  Chevalier,  at  from 
48,000  to  60,000  Ibs.  troy,  equal  in  value  to  from  $770,000 
to  $960,000. 

Although  the  yield  of  the  ores  has  become  much  less  in 
descending  than  it  was  at  the  surface,  still  these  mines  are 
by  no  means  exhausted,  in  the  opinion  of  those  best  likely 
to  know.  The  methods  followed  are  of  the  most  wasteful 


172        MINING  DISTRICTS  OF  CHILI. 


Ai 

C 

1  n 


kind,  and  cruelly  destructive  to  the  lives  of  the  workmen 
engaged  in  carrying  them  on.  There  were,  in  1852,  in  the 
province  of  Potosi,  1800  abandoned  silver  mines,  and  only 
26  at  work ;  and  in  the  remaining  mining  districts  of 
Bolivia  2365  abandoned,  and  40  working  mines.  From  the 
present  appearance  of  things,  it  is  difficult  to  say  when,  if 
ever,  this  mining  region  will  assume  the  importance  which 
it  once  had.  Under  an  enlightened  management,  and  with 
a  government  which  could  be  trusted,  a  vast  change  might 
be  made,  if  only  by  the  introduction  of  the  simplest  ma- 
\  chinery  and  methods  in  use  in  Mexico. 

The  whole  amount  of  silver  produced  by  the  mines  of 
Peru  and  Bolivia,  from  the  earliest  period  up  to  the  year 
1845,  is  estimated,  by  Chevalier,  at  12,925,000,000  francs,  or 
155,839,180  Ibs.  troy. 

CHILI. — "We  are  indebted  to  Domeyko  for  a  very  good 
description  of  the  geological  structure  and  a  sketch  of  the 
mining  districts  of  Chili.*  He  divides  the  rock  formations 
into  three  groups :  I.  Secondary  stratified,  prior  to  the  uplift 
of  the  Andes.  II.  Igneous  eruptive  masses  of  the  period  of 
the  elevation  of  that  chain.  JH.  Tertiary  beds  posterior  to 
that  uplift.  In  general,  the  veins  bearing  copper  and  gold 
belong  to  Group  II. ;  those  of  silver,  argentiferous  copper, 
and  sulph-arseniurets  and  sulph-antimoniurets  of  silver,  to 
Group  I.  The  gold  veins  are  principally  in  the  granite,  and 
the  copper,  uncombined  with  silver,  arsenic,  or  antimony,  is 
found  in  the  diorites,  porphyries,  eurites,  and  other  igneous 
eruptive  rocks.  The  chlorides  of  silver  and  native  amal- 
gams are  near  the  principal  line  of  contact  of  I.  and  II. 

The  mining  districts  of  this  country  are  divided  as  follows: 

a.  Mountains  to  the  north  of  the  valley  of  Huasco.     This 
part  of  Chili  is  richest  in  silver,  but  it  also  contains  valuable 
mines  of  copper  and  gold.     Among  those  of  copper  the 
mines  of  Carrisal  are  the  most  important. 

b.  District  between  Huasco  and  Coquimbo.     In  this  region 
are  the  groups  of  veins  of  pyritous  copper,  and  oxide  of 
copper,  of  the  mines  of  San  Juan  and  La  Higuera,  which,  in ' 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  ix.  22. 


MINES    OF    CHILI.  173 

1845,  were  producing  more  than  5800  tons  of  25  per  cent, 
ore  per  annum  for  exportation,  besides  supplying  a  number 
of  furnaces  in  Chili.  These  mines  are  in  the  diorites. 

On  a  line  between  Arqueros  and  Agua  Amarga,  which 
line  represents  the  line  of  contact  of  I.  and  II.,  there  are 
numerous  veins  of  chloride  of  silver,  native  silver,  and 
amalgam. 

c.  District  between  the  valleys  of  Coquimbo  and  Acon- 
cagua.    Here  the  granite  rocks  extend  farther  inland  from 
the  coast,  and  the  gold-bearing  veins  acquire  a  greater  deve- 
lopment.    The  whole  of  the  granite  is  more  or  less  auriferous. 
On  its  borders  are  cupriferous  veins,  among  which  are  those 
of  Tamaya. 

d.  District  south  of  the  Valley  of  Aconcagua.     Here,  as  in 
the  region  alluded  to  above,  the  granite  is  filled  with  auri- 
ferous veins,  and  mines  of  silver  and  argentiferous  copper 
are  worked  above  the  level  of  the  escarpments  of  the  stratified 
rocks  forming  the  elevated  chain  of  the  Andes. 

The  usual  gangues  of  the  copper  ores  are  quartz  and  horn- 
blende ;  of  the  gold,  quartz  and  sulphuret  of  iron ;  while 
sulphate  of  baryta  and  carbonate  of  lime  accompany  the 
silver  ores,  which  are  very  various  and  interesting.  The 
most  abundant  is  the  chloride,  which  is  associated  with 
bromide  of  silver  and  the  native  metal.  The  chloride  occurs 
in  the  usual  gray,  earthy,  ferruginous  deposits,  called  pacos 
and  color  ados  by  the  South  American  miners.  Besides  these, 
there  are  a  great  variety  of  sulphurets  and  arseniurets.  Their 
yield  is  from  0-003  to  0-008  ;  the  richest  contain  0-002  of  silver. 
It  is  very  curious  that  the  galena  and  blende  so  common  in 
Chili  are  not  by  any  means  rich  in  silver,  as  would  be  expected 
in  a  region  abounding  in  this  metal.  On  the  contrary,  they 
hardly  contain  a  trace  of  it. 

The  nourishing  political  state  of  Chili,  and  the  internal 
quiet  which  it  has  so  long  enjoyed,  in  comparison  with  other 
South  American  republics,  have  enabled  the  mines  to  be 
opened  on  an  extensive  scale ;  and  there  has  been  a  great 
increase  in  the  production  of  silver  and  copper  within  the 
last  few  years. 

The  most  interesting  and  important  argentiferous  district 


174  MINES    OF    COPAIPO. 

is  that  of  Copiapo,  and  from  accounts  published  by  Mr. 
Dillon,*  and  Col.  J.  A.  Lloyd,  English  Chargd  d'Afiaires  in 
Bolivia,f  the  following  notices  of  that  region  are  extracted : — 

"All  of  that  part  of  Chili  which  lies  above  the  parallel 
of  Valparaiso  is  a  rocky  and  sterile  country,  excepting  three 
tongues  of  land,  from  one-fourth  of  a  mile  to  one  mile  wide, 
extending  inwards  from  Coquimbo,  Huasco,  and  Caldera. 
All  the  rest  is  a  desert ;  and  in  it,  at  distances  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  leagues  apart,  are  several  mining  districts.  Those 
of  Coquimbo  and  Huasco  produce  chiefly  copper,  while  that 
of  Copiapo  is  remarkable  for  its  richness  in  silver.  "J 

The  principal  mining  centres  are  those  of  Los  Tres  Puntos 
and  Chanarcillo,  the  first  being  thirty  leagues  north-northeast 
of  Copiapo,  the  other  sixteen  leagues  south.  The  Chanar- 
cillo mines  were  discovered  in  1832,  by  a  poor  muleteer,  and 
were  worked  with  large  but  gradually  diminishing  yield  until 
1836,  when  the  ores  were  found  to  be  cut  off  by  a  stratum  of 
"tough  and  horny  limestone,"  called,  in  that  country,  a 
"mesa"  (table),  and  into  which  the  veins  did  not  penetrate. 
At  first  the  miners  gave  up  in  discouragement ;  but  one  of 
them,  more  persevering  than  the  others,  had  the  courage  to 
sink  266  feet  through  the  unproductive  rock,  when,  on  the 
other  side,  a  rich  mass  of  silver  was  found ;  and,  according 
to  Col.  Lloyd,  seven  of  these  intercepting  belts  have  been 
pierced  through,  and  it  has  been  universally  found  that  the 
veins  are  rich  between  them,  and  that  there  are  large  accu- 
mulations of  silver  near  the  plane  of  contact  of  the  "mesa" 
with  the  adjoining  rock. 

The  Descubridora  was  the  first  mine  discovered  in  the  dis- 
trict, and  still  continues  productive.  The  district  of  the  Tres 
Puntos,  according  to  Mr.  Dillon,  has  three  principal  and  rich 
mines,  La  Buena  Esperanza,  La  Salvadora,  and  the  Al  Fin 
Hallada.  He  remarks  that  "  there  may  be  in  all  Copiapo 
20  good  mines  producing  .£1,300,000  annually,  and  200  pro- 
ducing nothing  or  less." 

*  Eng.  Mining  Journal,  No.  957. 

f  Jour.  Geographical  Society  of  London,  xxiii.  196.  ' 

J  Caldera  is  the  port  of  Copiapo,  between  which  places  is  a  railroad  fifty  miles 
in  length,  extending  through  a  desert  country,  where  rain  never  falls.  It  is  to  be 
continued  to  Chanarcillo. 


MINES    OF    MEXICO.  175 

The  Copiapo  Mining  Company  is  an  English  association 
with  10,000  shares,  on  which  £15  per  share  has  been  paid  in ; 
present  value  12  J  to  12J.  They  are  working  several  silver 
as  well  as  a  number  of  copper  mines. 

The  development  of  the  mining  interest  of  Chili  has  been 
more  recent  than  that  of  the  other  South  American  states. 
Under  the  Spanish  dominion,  they  produced  little.  In  1800  the 
amount  of  silver  extracted  was  estimated  by  Humboldt  at 
18,300  Ibs.,  that  of  gold  at  7,500  Ibs.  Since  that  time  the 
quantity  of  the  latter  metal  has  fallen  off  very  much,  the 
washings  being  nearly  exhausted;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  production  of  silver  has  been  rapidly  increasing  since 
1832,  when  the  rich  mines  of  the  Copiapo  district  were  first 
discovered.  The  total  amount  of  silver  extracted  up  to  1810 
is  estimated  by  Chevalier  at  804,000  Ibs. ;  from  1804  to  1845 
at  1,803,636  Ibs.,  we  may  add  from  1846  to  1853  probably 
about  1,750,000  Ibs.  more,  making  as  the  entire  amount  of 
this  metal  produced  from  the  Chili  mines  up  to  this  time, 
4,357,656  Ibs. 

MEXICO. — It  is  well  known  that  the  Aztecs,  before  the 
arrival  of  Cortez,  possessed  the  art  of  working  gold,  silver, 
copper,  and  tin,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  they 
had  ever  carried  their  knowledge  of  mining  to  any  degree  of 
perfection.  On  the  other  hand,  everything  leads  to  the  sup- 
position that  the  gold  was  procured  entirely  from  washings, 
and  the  silver  from  the  outcrop  of  the  veins,  where  the  metal 
exists  in  an  exceedingly  pure  state.  The  art  of  reducing  the 
metals  copper  and  tin  from  their  ores  was  well  understood 
by  them ;  but  that  does  not  imply  any  very  extended  knowl- 
edge of  metallurgy,  since  the  ores  found  in  Mexico  are  very 
easy  of  reduction. 

The  data  which  we  have  on  the  subject  of  the  Mexican 
mines  are  derived  wholly  from  the  works  of  European  scien- 
tific men  and  travellers ;  and  though  their  works  are  numer- 
ous and  voluminous  they  necessarily  leave  much  to  be  de- 
sired, especially  touching  the  subject  of  the  geology  of  the 
country.  Until  a  thorough  geological  survey,  based  on  a 
good  map  of  Mexico,  shall  have  been  carried  out,  we  shall  re- 
main very  much  in  the  dark  as  to  many  of  the  most  interest- 


176  GEOLOGY    OF    MEXICO. 

ing  questions  connected  with  the  argentiferous  veins,  their 
geological  position,  and  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  their  ores. 
Certain  it  is,  that  no  country  offers  a  more  interesting  field 
for  the  geologist  than  Mexico.  What  Humboldt  said,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century,  remains  still  quite  applica- 
ble. He  remarks,*  "  We  are  still  far  from  understanding  the 
structure  of  the  metalliferous  mountains  of  Mexico,  and  in 
spite  of  the  great  number  of  observations  which  I  have  been 
able  to  collect  in  traversing  the  country  in  different  direc- 
tions, over  a  distance  of  more  than  400  leagues,  I  shall  not 
hazard  a  general  sketch  of  the  Mexican  mines  considered  in 
their  geological  relations." 

The  principal  workings  are  on  true  veins. f  Deposits  and 
segregated  masses,  parallel  with  the  stratification,  are  rare. 
The  veins  are  mostly  included  in  the  so-called  primitive  and 
transition  rocks,  or,  in  the  language  of  modern  geology,  the 
azoic  (?),  metamorphic  palaeozoic,  and  hypogene  rocks.  The 
limestone  of  the  districts  of  Tasco  and  Catorce  is  called,  by 
Humboldt,  "Alpine  limestone,"  and,  by  Burkart,  "mountain 
limestone,"  from  which  it  would  appear  to  be  of  the  car- 
boniferous age,  or  of  the  age  of  the  argentiferous  strata  of 
the  Bolivian  and  Peruvian  Cordilleras. 

Granite,  gneiss,  and  mica  slate,  form  the  crests  of  the 
highest  mountains ;  but  these  rocks  rarely  appear  on  their 
flanks,  which  are  covered  by  an  immense  thickness  of  beds 
of  greenstone,  amygdaloid,  basalt,  and  other  trappean  rocks, 
under  which  the  granite  is  effectually  concealed.  The 
porphyries  in  Mexico  are  pre-eminently  metalliferous;  but 
their  relative  geological  age  is  pronounced,  by  Humboldt, 
one  of  the  most  difficult  geological  problems  to  solve.  They 
are  characterized  by  the  presence  of  hornblende,  and  the 
absence  of  quartz. 

The  metalliferous  veins  have  a  direction  approaching 
northwest  and  southeast;  they  dip  at  a  high  angle,  more 
frequently  to  the  south  than  the  north,  and  they  generally 
cut  the  enclosing  rocks  at  a  considerable  angle.  The  great 
vein  of  Guanaxuato,  the  Yeta  Madre,  the  mother  vein,  or 

*  La  Nouvelle  Espagne,  ii.  487. 

fDuport,De  la  Production  des  M6taux  precieux  au  Mexique,  &c.,  p.  25. 


MEXICAN    ARGENTIFEROUS    VEINS.  177 

champion  lode,  as  the  Cornish  miners  would  call  it,  has, 
however,  a  direction  so  nearly  coincident  with  that  of  the 
adjoining  strata,  that  it  might  almost  be  considered  a  bed, 
which  some  mining  engineers  have  supposed  it  to  be ;  but  it 
is  pronounced  by  Humboldt  to  be  a  true  vein,  as  it  contains 
fragments  of  the  hanging  wall,  and  passes  from  one  forma- 
tion into  another  of  a  different  geological  character.  This 
vein,  the  richest  and  most  developed  in  the  world  probably, 
widens  out  sometimes  to  nearly  200  feet,  and  has  been 
opened  at  various  points  for  a  length  of  more  than  three 
leagues;  but  the  main  workings  are  comprised  within  a 
distance  of  2000  varas  or  yards.  The  deepest  shafts  had,  in 
1845,  penetrated  about  2000  feet  beneath  the  surface.  The 
Veta  Grande  of  Zacatecas  is  next  in  magnitude  to  the  Veta 
Madre ;  its  average  width  is  fully  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet, 
and  in  some  places  it  widens  out  to  seventy-five,  although 
the  whole  of  this  extent  is  not  metalliferous.  The  Mexican 
veins  do  not,  however,  in  general,  possess  these  extraordinary 
dimensions,  but  vary  from  a  few  inches  to  six  feet  in  width, 
the  narrow  ones  being  often  very  profitable  to  work  on 
account  of  their  extreme  richness. 

The  gangues  are  principally  quartz,  and  their  crestones, 
or  outcrops,  may  generally  be  traced  with  great  ease,  owing 
to  the  imperishable  nature  of  this  material.  The  ores  are  the 
various  simple  and  complex  sulphurets  of  silver,  which,  near 
the  surface,  have  been  decomposed  and  converted  into 
metallic  silver,  chloride  of  silver,  oxide,  carbonate,  &c.  This 
portion  of  the  vein  is  generally  much  intermixed  with  ferru- 
ginous matter,  and  hence  the  ores  are  called  colorados  (colo- 
rado  meaning  red).  Below  the  point  of  decomposition, 
where  the  sulphurets  remain  in  their  original  character,  the 
ores  are  called  negros  (negro,  black) ;  the  latter  kind,  accord- 
ing to  Duport,  furnishes  seven-eighths  of  the  whole  produce 
of  Mexico. 

About  the  year  1821,  it  having  become  evident  to  the 
Mexican  Government  that  there  was  not  capital  enough  in 
the  country  to  work  their  mines  properly,  they  offered  to 
allow  foreigners  to  become  joint  proprietors  with  ''natives, 
thus  throwing  open  the  door  to  foreign  capital  on  advanta- 

12 


178        ENGLISH    MINING    COMPANIES    IN    MEXICO. 

geous  terms.  A  lively  movement,  on  the  part  of  the  Eng- 
lish mining  adventurers,  immediately  ensued;  and  in  the 
expectation  of  enormous  gains  from  the  application  of  Eng- 
lish skill  to  the  great  veins  of  Mexico,  they  entered  with 
more  zeal  than  discretion  into  the  business  of  mining.  The 
consequence  was,  that  immense  losses  were  incurred.  In 
1829,  there  were  seven  great  English  companies  at  work 
there,  besides  one  German  and  two  American,  and  about 
.$15,000,000  of  British  capital  was  actually  invested  in  their 
works.  These  seven  companies  were  but  a  small  portion 
of  those  which  were  started  during  the  Mexican  mining 
mania.*  Their  names  were  the  Real  del  Monte,  the  Bolanos, 
the  Tlalpujahua,  the  Anglo-Mexican,  the  United  Mexican, 
the  Mexican,  and  the  Catorce  Companies.  Of  all  these  there 
seems  now  to  be  only  one  in  existence,  the  United  Mexican, 
whose  shares,  on  which  <£28J  have  been  paid,  are  quoted  at 
<£4f .  The  number  of  m;nes  worked  by  this  Company  is  two, 
out  of  some  fifty  to  a  hundred  included  in  their  leases  and 
purchases.  This  frittering  away  of  the  means  of  a  company 
over  such  an  extent  of  ground  as  was  embraced  in  the  origi- 
nal plan,  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  account  for  its  failure. 
Some  of  the  mines  which  had  been  carried  by  the  English 
almost  to  the  paying  point  and  then  abandoned,  are  said  to 
be  now  worked  by  the  Mexicans  with  success.  It  is  a  curious 
fact,  that  all  the  skill  of  the  English  miners  has  failed  to 
make  any  improvement  in  the  Mexican  methods  of  preparing 
the  ores  and  extracting  the  silver  from  them,  and  the  loss  of 
mercury  remains  about  the  same  that  it  was  200  years  ago. 
In  1844,  it  was  estimated  by  Duflot  de  Mofras,  that  the  Eng- 
lish companies  produced  only  one-tenth  of  the  whole  quantity 
of  silver  raised  in  Mexico. f 

The  fact  that  the  Mexican  mines  have  produced,  and  are 
still  producing,  such  large  amounts  of  silver,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  the  opinion  universally  given  by  scientific  tra- 
vellers, from  Humboldt  to  Duport,  as  to  the  number  and 
richness  of  the  veins  existing  in  that  country,  renders  it  an 
interesting  subject  of  inquiry  why  the  English  capitalists  were 

*  Ward's  Mexico,  i.  405. 

•f  Duflot  de  Mofras,  Exploration  du  Territoire  de  1'Oregon,  i.  47. 


REASONS    OF    THEIR    FAILURE.  179 

so  unsuccessful  in  their  operations  there.  The  most  pro- 
bable reasons  may  be  found :  1st,  in  the  want  of  concentra- 
tion of  their  energy  upon  a  few,  and  these  the  most  promis- 
ing, localities.  Some  companies  had  hundreds  of  concessions 
or  leases,  and  instead  of  selecting  one  or  two  of  the  best,  and 
expending  their  capital  upon  those,  they  tried  to  keep  a  great 
number  of  them  in  operation  at  once,  and  thus  expended  all 
their  funds  before  arriving  at  a  positive  result  anywhere ; 
2d.  The  cost  of  transportation  and  want  of  fuel,  and  conse- 
quent difficulty  of  using  the  powerful  steam-engines  in- 
tended to  be  employed  in  draining  the  mines ;  3d.  The  at- 
tempts to  introduce  costly  machinery  and  methods,  which, 
after  trial,  were  found  unsuited  to  Mexican  circumstances, 
and  had  to  be  abandoned ;  4th.  And  chiefly,  because,  instead 
of  opening  new  mines  on  fresh  discoveries,  the  operations 
were  principally  directed  to  the  working  of  those  which  had 
been  previously,  if  not  exhausted,  at  least  carried  down  to  a 
point  where  they  ceased  to  be  sufficiently  productive  to  pay 
for  working.  Following  the  statements  of  Humbolclt,  those 
mines  which  were  cited  by  him  as  having  produced  the 
largest  amounts  were  most  eagerly  sought  after,  while,  in 
reality,  it  by  no  means  followed  that,  because  they  had  already 
yielded  immensely,  they  must  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future.. 
The  fact  is  evident,  indeed,  from  a  candid  examination  of 
the  Mexican  mines,  that  the  yield  of  silver  does  not  continue 
to  hold  at  a  considerable  depth.  This  is  apparent,  from  the- 
fact  that  the  English  companies  were  unsuccessful,  and  that 
the  whole  of  the  deep  mines  from  which  the  water  was  re- 
moved and  ore  extracted,  were  found  to  present  no  encou- 
ragement for  farther  working.  Duport  himself,*  who  is 
most  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  immense  wealth  is  still  to 
be  obtained  from  Mexico,  admits  that  a  mine  which  has  been 
worked  to  a  depth  of  200  to  350  fathoms  and  then  aban- 
doned, however  productive  it  may  have  been,  offers  little 
inducement  for  resuming  the  workings  upon  it,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  the  mines  are  no  longer  productive  below  that 
depth.  At  the  same  time,  he  considers  the  prospect  of  a 

*  Op.  cit.  p.  35. 


180  YIELD    OF    MEXICAN    MINES. 

future  production  of  silver  greatly  surpassing  that  of  the 
present  day  as  highly  encouraging.  He  remarks,  that  the 
principal  causes  which  operate  against  the  almost  unlimited 
development  of  the  metallic  wealth  of  Mexico  are,  the  un- 
settled political  condition  of  that  country,  the  want  of  scien- 
tific skill,  and  the  high  price  of  mercury.  But,  in  view  of 
the  vast  extent  of  metalliferous  formations  yet  to  be  ex- 
plored, and  the  numher  of  veins  known  to  exist,  he  considers 
the  resources  of  that  country  as  almost  boundless,  since  he 
closes  his  work  with  the  remark,  "  That  the  time  will  come, 
sooner  or  later,  when  the  production  of  silver  will  have  no 
other  limits  than  such  as  are  imposed  upon  it  by  the  con- 
stantly increasing  decline  in  the  value  of  this  metal." 

The  whole  amount  produced  by  the  Mexican  mines,  from 
the  earliest  period  up  to  1845,  wTas  estimated  by  Chevalier  at 
13,507,000,000  francs  in  value,  or  162,858,700  Ibs.  troy. 

The  mines  of  Zacatecas  began  to  be  worked  in  1548,  and 
those  of  Guanaxuato  in  1558 ;  while  the  Mexican  process  of 
amalgamation  was  invented  at  about  the  same  time  by  Me- 
dina. At  this  time,  the  annual  yield  of  the  Mexican  mines 
is  estimated  by  Humboldt  at  from  $2,000,000  to  $3,000,000 ; 
during  the  18th  century,  it  gradually  rose  to  $23,000,000. 
The  production  reached  its  highest  point  during  the  period 
of  prosperity  from  1800  to  1810,  just  before  the  war  of  Inde- 
pendence, when  the  average  quantity  of  gold  and  silver 
coined  at  the  various  mints  in  Mexico,  was  $23,664,622, 
the  ratio  of  the  former  metal  to  the  latter  being,  by  weight, 
0-0029  :  1 ;  and  in  value,  0-05  :  1.  During  the  war,  there 
was  a  very  great  falling  off,  from  which  the  country  has  been 
gradually  recovering ;  the  average  yield  of  silver  from  1810 
to  1845  being  about  $12,000,000,  and  of  gold  a  little  over 
$1,000,000.  In  1850,  and  since  that  time,  the  mines  seem 
to  be  producing  more  largely  than  during  their  most  nourish- 
ing period  ;  the  various  estimates  indicating  a  yield  of  over 
$25,000,000  of  silver,  and  $300,000  of  gold,  the  Province  of 
Guanaxuato  furnishing  about  one-half  of  this  sum. 

UNITED  STATES. — As  before  remarked,  the  silver  furnished 
by  this  country  comes  almost  wholly  from  the  native  gold  of 
California.  There  is  no  proper  silver  mine  within  our  terri- 
tory, although  there  are  several  localities  where  a  small 


STATISTICS    OF    SILVER.  181 

amount  of  this  metal  is  obtained  in  connection  with  lead 
ores.  The  Washington  Mine,  Davidson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, formerly  the  most  important  silver  producing  mine  in 
the  country,  is  now  suspended.  This,  as  well  as  other  locali- 
ties where  argentiferous  galena  is  or  has  been  worked,  will 
be  described  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  lead. 

The  statistics  of  silver  show  no  such  extraordinary  fluctua- 
tions within  the  last  half  century,  as  are  indicated  by  the 
tables  of  the  yield  of  gold  given  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
This  will  be  apparent  from  an  examination  of  the  following 
tables,  in  which  the  amount  of  silver  produced  by  the  dif- 
ferent countries  throughout  the  world  is  given,  so  far  as 
reliable  statistics  could  be  obtained.  In  the  table  imme- 
diately following  are  comprised  the  European  states,  and  the 
years  for  which  the  results  are  given  are  each  tenth  year 
from  1800  to  1820 ;  from  1820  to  1845,  every  fifth  year ;  and 
from  that  period  up  to  1853,  for  every  year.  Blanks  are  left 
when  data  of  approximate  exactness  could  not  be  obtained. 
For  Norway,  Prussia,  Saxony,  the  Harz,  Austria,  and  France, 
the  returns  are  taken  from  official  documents,  and  may  be 
relied  on  as  very  nearly  correct.  Great  difficulty  has  been 
experienced  in  obtaining  accurate  returns  from  Spain,  where 
the  yield  of  all  the  metals  has  always  been  very  fluctuating ; 
this  is  the  more  to  be  regretted,  as  that  country  stands  among 
the  first  in  Europe  in  the  production  of  silver,  as  well  as  of  lead 
and  mercury.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Russia,  whose  sta- 
tistics indicate  for  most  of  the  years  for  which  they  have  been 
obtained,  a  yield  of  the  metal  which  would  place  it  about  on 
a  par  with  Saxony.  In  England,  it  is  only  quite  recently 
that  any  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  statistics  of  any  other 
metal  than  copper.  The  exertions  of  Mr.  R.  Hunt,  Keeper 
of  the  Mining  Records,  an  office  recently  erected  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  have  made  it 
possible  to  give  the  yield  of  both  lead  and  silver  for  a  few  of 
the  last  years.  Besides  the  production  of  Prussia,  Saxony, 
the  Harz,  and  the  Austrian  Empire,  there  has  been  within 
the  last  few  years  a  small  amount  furnished  by  some  of  the 
minor  states,  estimated,  in  1850,  as  equal  to  2500  Ibs.  only. 
This  has  not  been  included  in  the  table.  The  figures  given 
represent  the  weight  of  pure  silver  in  pounds  troy. 


182 


STATISTICS    OF    SILVER. 


Year. 

Russia. 

Sweden. 

Norway. 

Great  Britain. 

Prussia. 

1800,  .     .     . 

58,150 

1810. 

1820, 

1825, 

1S30, 

56,189 

12,776  av. 

1835, 

2,179 

14.500 

13.336    " 

1840, 

2.473 

15,368    ;' 

1845, 

(;44)  17,730 

15.240   <; 

1846, 

53,000 

32.776 

16,178 

1847, 

17,429 

1848, 

52.307 

18.120 

1849, 

14,108 

1850, 

2,984 

3,418 

48,484 

21,184 

1851, 

60,170 

26.493 

1852: 

59.985 

68.194 

1853, 

16.971  av. 

Year. 

Harz. 

Saxony. 

Austria. 

Spain. 

France. 

1800,   .    .    . 

31,700 

1810, 

1820, 

47,506 

1825, 

37.093 

60.924 

3,114 

1830, 
1835, 

('31)  35.533 
32,115 

40^816 
39,830 

63.578 
63',578 

4.841 
4,822 

1840, 

75,978 

5,131 

1845, 

81,510 

108,236 

7,566 

1846, 

83,093 

1847, 

86,992 

68,825 

1848, 

51,150 

93,545 

1849, 

52.639 

61,132 

1850, 

31.500 

63,640 

1851. 

59,798 

1852^ 

1853, 

In  regard  to  the  production  of  silver  in  those  parts  of  Asia 
not  included  in  the  Russian  Empire,  and  also  of  the  East 
India  Islands,  and  the  continent  of  Africa,  there  is  no  satis- 
factory information.  The  amount  obtained  must  be  very 
trifling,  and  it  does  not  in  any  way  enter  into  or  affect  the 
commerce  of  the  rest  of  the  world;  they  have,  therefore, 
been  omitted  from  the  list. 

The  next  table  presents  such  statistics  of  the  western 
hemisphere  as  have  been  obtained.  They  will  be  found 
much  more  defective  than  the  preceding  one.  So  large  a 
portion  of  the  precious  metals  is  smuggled  out  of  those 
countries,  without  passing  through  the  hands  of  government 
officers,  that  the  most  reliable  statements  must  necessarily 
be  based  partly  on  estimates.  There  have  been  no  investi- 
gations made  into  this  subject  by  any  competent  persons  on 
the  spot,  since  the  date  of  Chevalier's  and  Duport's  writings, 
which  were  published  nearly  ten  years  ago.  On  that  ac- 


STATISTICS    OF    SILVER. 


183 


count  the  table  has  not  been  continued  beyond  1850,  except 
for  the  United  States,  since  the  fluctuations  in  the  produce 
of  Mexico  and  the  South  American  states  could  not  be 
ascertained.  In  general,  the  produce  of  all  of  them  seems 
to  be  somewhat  on  the  increase.  Chili  especially  has  ex- 
hibited within  the  last  few  years  a  rapid  development  of  her 
silver  mines. 


Chili. 

Bolivia. 

Peru. 

N.  Grenada. 

Brazil. 

Mexico. 

U.  States. 

1800,  
1810,   .... 

18,300 

271,300 

401,850 

1,200 

1,440,500 

1820,  
1825,  
1830,  
1835,  

143,000 

230,296 

6,550  av. 

1840  .  . 

87  000 

1  050  000 

('41}  277 

1845,  

90000 

139,400 

303,150 

13,100 

607 

1,235  000 

307 

1846  .  . 

108  530 

197 

1847 

108  637 

412 

1848,  
1849,  .  . 

132,490 
190,653 

130,000 

400 
2521 

1850,  .  . 

238,502 

13,000 

675 

1,650,000 

17  354 

1851 

25103 

1852,  .  . 

26072 

1853,  

26,895 

Finally,  the  result  of  all  these  investigations  is  presented 
in  a  third  table,  which  follows  next  in  order.  In  this,  the 
produce  of  silver  throughout  the  world  is  summed  up  for  the 
years  1800,  1845,  and  1850,  and  the  amount  given  in  pounds 
troy,  and  to  each  is  appended  in  the  adjoining  columns  the 
relative  quantity  furnished  by  each  country  in  percentage. 


1800 

1845 

1850 

Russian  Empire,    

58  150 

2-5 

53,000 

2-4 

60000 

"•1 

Scandinavia,      
Great  Britain,    

| 

20,000 
32,500 

1- 

1-5 

20.400 
48,500 

•7 
1-7 

Harz,     

32,000 

1-5 

31,500 

1-1 

15  250 

•7 

21  200 

.7 

Saxony,     
Other  German  States,    .... 

141,000 

6- 

50,000 
2.000 
81  500 

2-3 
•1 
3-7 

63,600 
2,500 
87,000 

2-3 
•1 
3-1 

108,200 

4-9 

125,000 

4-4 

France,      .    . 

7  500 

•3 

5,000 

•2 

Australia,  

10,000 

•4 

Chili,     
Bolivia 

18,300 
271  300 

•8 
11-6 

90,000 
139  400 

4-1 
6-4 

238,500 
130  000 

8-3 
4-6 

Peru,     

401  850 

17-2 

303  150 

13-9 

303,150 

10-7 

New  Granada, 

5  000 

•2 

13100 

•6 

13000 

•5 

675 

Mexico,     .... 

1  440  500 

61-7 

1  235  000 

56-6 

1  650,000 

58-4 

California  and  United  States,     . 

300 

17,400 

•7 

2.337,300 

2.183.500 

2,817.425 

The  great  preponderance  of  the  American  continent  will 


184         RELATIVE    YIELD    OF    GOLD    AND    SILVER. 

be  noticed  at  a  glance,  and  Mexico  will  be  seen  to  have  fur- 
nished, alone,  considerably  over  half  of  the  whole  produce 
of  the  world. 

By  comparing  these  tables  with  those  given  at  the  end  of 
the  last  chapter,  it  will  be  seen,  that  while  the  production  of 
gold  has  risen  suddenly  and  enormously,  at  various  periods 
within  the  last  few  years,  that  of  silver,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  been,  with  slight  fluctuations,  slowly  increasing,  having 
risen  from  about  two  and  a  quarter  millions  of  pounds  in 
1800,  to  a  little  over  two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  in 
1850.  Gold,  on  the  other  hand,  has  vibrated  between  54,000, 
and  over  717,000  Ibs.,  since  the  commencement  of  the  cen- 
tury, the  great  increase  being,  of  course,  principally  due  to 
California  and  Australia. 

If  we  compare  the  produce  of  the  two  metals  we  shall 
have  the  following  result : — 

Relative  weight  of 
Year.  Gold.  Silver. 

1800, 1        43 

1845, 1        17 

1850, 1         8-8 

1852, 1         4 

The  effect  of  this  extraordinary  change  in  the  relative  pro- 
duction of  the  two  metals  has  been  felt  everywhere.  Already 
gold  has  driven  silver  almost  out  of  the  field,  in  those  coun- 
tries where  it  was  before  the  principal  medium  of  circulation. 
That  which  has  thus  been  withdrawn  as  coin,  has  been  partly 
brought  into  use  again  in  the  form  of  plate ;  but  a  large  part 
has  been  shipped  to  Asia.  Up  to  this  time  there  has  been 
no  very  considerable  change  in  the  relative  value  of  the  two 
metals ;  but  should  California  and  Australia  continue  to  sup- 
ply gold  at  anything  like  the  present  rates  for  some  years  to 
come,  it  seems  impossible  that  such  a  change  should  not  take 
place.  As  this  metal  rose,  while  the  Mexican  and  South 
American  mines  were  pouring  out  their  treasures,  from  a 
value  only  ten  times  as  great  as  that  of  silver  to  that  which 
it  now  has,  of  between  15  and  16  to  1  of  the  latter  metal,  so 
now  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  gradually  return  to 
something  like  the  former  ratio. 


SILVER    AS    A    STANDARD    OF    VALUE.  185 

Silver  is  in  a  geological  point  of  view  the  metal  best  adapted 
for  a  standard  of  value,  since,  possessing  all  the  valuable 
qualities  which  make  gold  suitable  for  that  purpose,  it  is  not 
liable  to  those  fluctuations  in  its  production  to  which  this 
latter  is  exposed.  There  is  no  discovery  of  a  new  continent 
to  be  looked  forward  to,  whose  mines  shall  deluge  the  world 
with  silver,  and  any  increase  in  the  amount  of  this  metal  pro- 
duced must  come  chiefly  from  the  working  of  mining  re- 
gions already  known  by  the  application  of  increased  skill  and 
capital.  As  it  is  obtained  mostly  from  mines  wrought  in 
the  solid  rock,  any  additional  development  they  may  acquire 
must  be  gradual,  while  gold  from  the  very  nature  of  its 
occurrence  can  never  be  produced  with  that  steadiness  which 
characterizes  the  metals  wrought  chiefly  in  deep  and  perma- 
nent mines. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

MERCURY. 
SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL   OCCURRENCE   AND   GEOLOGICAL   POSITION   OF   THE 
ORES   OF   MERCURY. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — Native  mercury  is  not  of 
uncommon  occurrence,  but  it  is  from  the  sulphuret  of  this 
metal,  or  native  cinnabar,  that  nearly  the  whole  of  the  mer- 
cury of  commerce  is  obtained.  The  combinations  in  which 
this  metal  occurs  in  nature  are  the  following : — 

NATIVE    METAL. 

Native  Mercury,  or  Quicksilver,  occurs  in  small  quantity  in 
almost  all  the  mines  of  this  metal,  as  a  product  of  the 
decomposition  of  its  ores,  and  especially  of  its  sulphuret. 

AMALGAM. 

Native  Amalgam,  amalgam  of  mercury  with  silver,  con- 
taining two  or  three  atoms  of  mercury  to  one  of  silver, 
equal  to  65-2  and  73-75  per  cent,  of  mercury.  The  Arquerite 
is  another  variety  of  amalgam,  containing,  according  to 
Domeyko,  one  atom  of  mercury  to  six  of  silver.  This  would 
give  silver  86-49,  mercury  13-50  per  cent.  This  is  a  valuable 
silver  ore  in  Chili. 


Cinnabar,  native  sulphuret  of  mercury.  This  is 'the  ore 
of  mercury,  from  which  nearly  all  the  mercury  of  commerce 
is  obtained.  It  consists  of  one  atom  of  mercury,  and  one  of 
sulphur,  or,  in  percentage,  86-2  of  the  former  to  13-8  of  the 
latter. 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    MERCURY.  187 

Native  Calomel,  horn  quicksilver ;  a  chloride  of  mercury, 
containing  two  atoms  of  the  metal  to  one  of  chlorine ;  or 
chlorine,  14-88 ;  mercury,  85-12.  This  is  a  rare  ore,  as  are 
also  the  following: — 

Coccinite.     Iodide  of  mercury ;  found  in  Mexico. 

Onofrite.  Seleniuret  of  mercury ;  a  sulphuret  and  seleniu- 
ret  of  mercury,  from  Mexico. 

Ammiolite.  An  antimoniuret  of  mercury;  found  accom- 
panying ores  of  antimony,  copper,  and  mercury  in  Chili. 
These  last  four  are  rather  objects  of  mineral ogical  curiosity, 
at  present,  than  of  commercial  importance. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION. — The  ores  of  mercury  are  very  une- 
qually distributed  over  the  world,  being  confined  to  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  localities,  in  most  of  which,  how- 
ever, they  occur  in  very  considerable  quantity,  so  that  a  few 
mines  supply  almost  the  whole  of  this  metal  furnished  to 
commerce.  The  geological  formations  in  which  they  are 
found  range  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  in  the  scale,  but 
the  principal  mines  seem  to  be  worked  in  the  Silurian  and 
Carboniferous.  When  the  mercurial  ores  occur  in  the  older 
metamorphic  rocks,  they  appear  to  exist  either  in  true  veins 
or  in  connection  with  them ;  but  the  great  masses  of  ore 
belong  rather  to  the  class  of  contact  deposits.  From  the 
volatility  of  the  metal,  it  would  naturally  be  expected  that  it 
should  be  found  diffused  through  the  strata  adjacent  to  the 
source  in  which  it  originated,  and  not  confined  within  very 
narrow  limits,  like  other  metals  whose  ores  are  of  a  less  vola- 
tile character.  And  such  is  the  case,  for  where  it  occurs  in 
considerable  quantity  it  is  associated  with  the  rocks  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  it  evident  that  it  has  been  absorbed  into  their 
mass  while  in  a  state  of  vapor,  impregnating  them  with 
metallic  matter  in  every  direction. 

There  are  instances  where  it  appears  evident  that  this 
metal  must  have  been  sublimed  from  below  during  the  most 
recent  geological  epochs,  since  it  is  found  in  considerable 
quantities,  in  the  metallic  state,  associated  with  the  superficial 
deposits,  even  in  the  alluvium  itself.  These  facts  will  be  suf- 
ficiently set  forth  in  the  description  of  some  of  the  principal 
localities  of  this  metal  and  its  ores. 


188  MERCURY    MINES    IN    EUROPE. 

S 

SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    OF    MERCURY   AND    ITS    ORES. 

ALTHOUGH  the  mines  of  Almaden  in  Spain,  and  Idria  in  the 
Austrian  Empire,  furnish  nearly  all  the  mercury  supplied  by 
Europe,  there  are  a  few  localities  where  it  is  found,  which 
have  formerly  been  of  importance,  and  which  still  possess  a 
certain  degree  of  interest.  The  principal  deposits  will  be 
hastily  passed  in  review. 

FRANCE. — Mercury  has  been  found  in  several  places  in  this 
country,  but  only  in  small  quantities.  The  localities  men- 
tioned are :  at  Montpellier,  in  the  tertiary  marls ;  Saint-Kome- 
de-Tarn,  in  marl  of  the  age  of  the  lias ;  at  Me'nildot  near 
Mortain,  department  of  the  Manche,  in  the  older  metamor- 
phic  rocks  ;  and  a  few  others  of  no  importance.  None  of  them 
are  worked. 

BAVARIA. — The  mercury  mines  in  Rhenish  Bavaria  have 
now  almost  ceased  to  be  worked,  but  previous  to  the  dis- 
covery of  America  they  were  of  considerable  importance  ;  up 
to  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  produced 
from  150,000  to  180,000  Ibs.  per  annum,  the  working  dating 
as  far  back  as  1420.  They  belong  to  the  carboniferous 
system,  and  according  to  Dechen,  form  regular  veins ;  but 
their  mode  of  occurrence  seems  to  be  a  complicated  and 
difficult  one  to  decipher.  Although  an  English  company  at- 
tempted to  take  up  these  mines  about  the  year  1836,  they 
do  not  seem  to  have  accomplished  anything.  One  of  the 
principal  mines,  that  of  the  Dreikonigszug,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Polzberg,  was  opened  on  a  vein  which  is  rarely  more 
than  an  inch  wide.  It  consists  of  argillaceous  matter  (flucan), 
and  the  ore  is  chiefly  found  adjacent  to  this  seam  in  the 
rocks  rather  than  in  the  vein  itself.  The  mine  of  Theodor's 
Erzlust,  in  the  Konigsberg,  near  "Wolfstein,  produced,  from 
1771  to  1794,  134,000  Ibs.  of  mercury ;  it  was  still  at  work 
in  1848,  and  had  produced  about  8000  Ibs.  of  mercury  from 
1843  to  1845. 

AUSTRIA. — Mines  of  Idria. — At  Idria,  in  Carinthia,  mines 
of  mercury  have  been  worked  for  several  hundred  years, 


SPAIN.  189 

which  are  still  of  great  importance,  and  second  only  to  those 
of  Almaden.  The  ore  is  chiefly  the  sulphuret,  with  some 
native  mercury;  it  is  contained  in  a  black  compact  lime- 
stone, associated  with  shales,  in  which  are  fossils  of  the  age 
of  the  Jura  limestone.  The  ore  is  intimately  combined  with 
the  shales,  having  evidently  penetrated  every  portion  of  them 
in  the  form  of  a  metallic  vapor. 

The  yield  of  the  Idria  mines  averaged,  during  the  five 
years  from  1843  to  1847,  358,281  Ibs.  per  annum. 

Bohemia  formerly  produced  mercury  in  some  quantity,  but 
the  workings  for  this  metal  have  now  entirely  ceased. 

Hungary  furnishes  also  a  very  small  quantity  of  this  metal 
from  the  copper  ores  obtained  near  Schmollnitz. 

SPAIN. — The  mines  of  mercury  in  Spain  are  the  most  im- 
portant of  this  metal  in  the  world,  whether  we  take  into  con- 
sideration the  length  of  time  during  which  they  have  been 
worked,  the  quantity  of  ore  they  have  furnished,  or  that  which 
they  will  be  able  in  the  future  to  produce.  The  mines  of  Al- 
maden are  situated  in  the  province  of  La  Mancha,  near  the 
frontier  of  Estremadura ;  the  chief  workings  are  near  Alma- 
den,  but  mercurial  ores  are  found  over  a  wide  belt,  which  runs 
in  an  easterly  and  westerly  direction,  through  that  place,  and 
extends  from  the  town  of  Chillon  to  that  of  Almaden ejos ;  at 
the  last-mentioned  place  considerable  mining  operations  are 
also  carried  on.  These  mines  have  been  worked  longer  and 
more  uninterruptedly,  perhaps,  than  any  others  in  the  world. 
Pliny  asserts  that  the  Greeks  procured  vermilion  from  them 
at  least  seven  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era,  and, 
according  to  the  same  authority,  they  yielded  annually  to 
the  Romans  100,000  Ibs.  of  cinnabar.  They  will  be  capable 
yet,  for  an  indefinite  period,  of  furnishing  the  amount  at 
present  obtained  from  them.  These  mines  were  formerly 
worked  by  condemned  criminals ;  but  paid  miners  are  now 
employed  in  them,  who,  it  need  hardly  be  added,  live  but  a 
short  and  wretched  life. 

The  Almaden  mines  are  opened  in  three  parallel  beds, 
which  belong  to  the  class  of  contact-deposits,  as  they  are 
situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Silurian  slates  and  sandstones 
with  a  metamorphic  rock,  called  locally  Fraylesca,  which 


190  MERCURY    IN    EUROPE. 

forms  a  zone  between  the  stratified  deposits  and  the  eruptive 
rocks.  The  three  metalliferous  beds  are  from  twenty  to  forty 
feet  in  thickness,  and  follow  all  the  flexures  of  the  stratifica- 
tion of  the  enclosing  rocks,  both  in  a  vertical  and  horizon- 
tal direction.  The  rock  which  is  called  Fraylesca,  is  con- 
sidered by  Burat  as  a  sandstone  metamorphosed  by  contact 
with  the  dioritic  masses  on  which  it  rests,  and  which  appear 
at  the  surface  at  no  great  distance  from  the  mine.  The  mer- 
curial vapors  seem  to  have  been  introduced  by  sublimation 
from  below  into  the  strata,  and  are  accumulated  in  such 
masses  that  twenty-five  centuries  of  exploitation  have  only 
excavated  them  to  the  depth  of  about  1000  feet.  According  to 
Le  Play,*  the  ore,  at  the  bottom  of  the  principal  workings  in 
the  main  vein,  is  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  width,  all  of  which 
is  rich  enough  to  pay  well  for  taking  out,  being  entirely  un- 
mixed with  barren  rock.  The  average  yield  for  the  ore  is 
about  10  per  cent.,  but  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  metal 
is  lost  by  the  imperfect  processes  adopted. 

The  present  yield  of  the  Spanish  mercury  mines  appears  to 
be  about  2J  millions  of  Ibs.  per  annum.  The  mines  are  the 
property  of  the  government,  and  their  produce  is  a  conside- 
rable source  of  revenue,  having  for  a  long  period  been  mo- 
nopolized by  the  Rothschilds  and  other  eminent  European 
bankers.  Until  recently,  in  consequence  of  this  state  of 
things,  the  price  of  the  metal  has  risen  considerably ;  the 
Spanish  government  having  raised  the  price,  at  successive 
lettings  of  the  contract,  from  §51  25,  in  1839,  to  $59;  and 
afterwards,  in  1843,  to  $82  50  per  quintal  (106  Ibs.).  Ee- 
cently,  the  price  has  been  lowered  on  account  of  the  compe- 
tition of  the  California  mines.  Under  the  head  of  Mexico, 
some  particulars  of  the  amount  required  to  supply  the  silver 
mines  of  that  country  will  be  given. 

TUSCANY. — At  Ripa,  in  Tuscany,  mercury  is  obtained  in 
small  quantity.  The  mine  is  wrought  in  small  veins  of  cin- 
nabar disseminated  through  mica  slate.  Their  aggregate 
thickness  only  amounts  to  about  twenty-eight  inches.  ~No 

*  Observations  sur  1'Histoire  Naturelle  et  sur  la  Richesse  Minerale  de  1'Espagne, 
p.  31. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  191 

statistics  of  the  amount  produced  here  have  been  obtained, 
but  it  must  be  quite  small. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. — Peru. — The  mines  of  Peru  have  hitherto 
been  the  principal  source  of  mercury  on  the  American  con- 
tinent, although  they  now  seem  likely  to  be  eclipsed  by  those 
of  California.  In  addition  to  the  information  given  by  Hum- 
boldt,  and  other  scientific  travellers,  in  regard  to  these  ex- 
tensive deposits  of  the  mercurial  ores,  we  have  an  elaborate 
account  of  them,  of  a  much  more  recent  date,  by  M.  Crosnier, 
who  was  sent  by  the  Peruvian  government  in  1850  and  '51, 
to  explore  and  report  upon  some  of  the  principal  mining  dis- 
tricts of  that  country.*  According  to  his  statement,  it  appears 
that  the  deposits  of  this  metal  which  occur  in  South  America 
are  not  confined  to  any  particular  formation,  but  range  from 
the  granite  to  the  carboniferous ;  those  of  Chili  are  in  the 
former  rock,  while  the  Peruvian  mines  appear  to  be  confined 
to  the  sandstones  of  the  latter  age. 

Mercury  ores  are  widely  scattered  through  Peru,  and  were 
well  known  to  the  inhabitants  before  the  invasion  of  Euro- 
peans into  the  country,  although  it  is  not  supposed  that  they 
knew  how  to  procure  the  metal  itself  from  them,  and  they 
probably  only  used  the  native  cinnabar  for  painting  their 
faces. 

The  deposits  of  the  province  of  Huancavelica  are  the  most 
important  in  the  country,  both  in  number  and  richness,  as 
the  presence  of  mercurial  ores  has  been  proved  in  forty-one 
different  localities  in  that  district.  The  most  important  one 
is  that  of  Santa  Barbara,  which  is  still  known  by  the  inhabi- 
tants as  "  The  Great  Mine."  It  has  been  worked  since  1566, 
although  its  product  has  very  much  fallen  off,  and  now  hardly 
exceeds  100,000  Ibs.  per  annum.  '  For  a  long  time  the  mine 
was  held  by  the  government,  and  farmed  out  to  be  worked ; 
of  course  those  who  leased  it  were  only  desirous  of  producing 
the  greatest  amount  of  mercury  during  the  period  of  their 
possession,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  it  was  most  negli- 
gently wrought,  and  the  whole  of  the  upper  and  richer  part 
of  the  works  was  ruined  by  being  allowed  to  fall  in.  The 

*  See  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  ii.  1. 


192        MINES     OF    MERCURY    IN    SOUTH    AMERICA. 

excavations,  which  are  of  immense  extent,  having  been  going 
on  for  more  than  three  centuries,  are  more  like  a  series  of 
quarries,  arranged  one  above  the  other  at  different  depths, 
than  like  a  regular  mine.  The  metalliferous  strata  are  about 
350  feet  in  thickness,  and  consist  of  a  series  of  sandstones  and 
shales,  intercalated  in  other  sandstones  and  conglomerates, 
the  whole  dipping  to  the  west  at  an  angle  of  about  64°.  The 
excavations  in  these  strata  impregnated  with  mercurial  ores, 
are  a  third  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  extend  to  a  depth  of  about 
1200  feet.  Two  hundred  workmen  were  killed  at  one  time 
by  the  caving  in  of  a  part  of  the  mine,  and  many  such  acci- 
dents have  happened  within  the  last  two  hundred  years,  so 
that  a  tunnel-shaped  cavity  has  been  formed  on  the  surface, 
of  30  to  40  feet  in  depth,  and  200  or  300  feet  in  circumference. 
The  most  important  engineering  work  of  this  mine  is  the 
deep  adit,  called  the  Socabon  de  Belen,  which  is  nearly  2000 
feet  long,  10  to  12  feet  wide,  and  equally  high. 

It  is  a  very  curious  fact  that  native  mercury  has  been  found, 
sometimes  in  considerable  quantity,  in  the  alluvial  deposits 
near  the  city  of  Huancavelica :  600  Ibs.  were  taken  out  from 
this  position  by  digging  a  simple  ditch  only  from  three  to 
six  feet  in  depth.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  a  constant 
slow  sublimation  of  the  metallic  particles  is  still  going  on,  and  a 
condensation  in  the  superficial  deposits.  Such  facts  have  been 
repeatedly  observed  in  different  countries,  and  it  seems  im- 
possible that  the  presence  of  the  metallic  mercury  could  in 
all  these  cases  have  been  the  result  of  accident,  and  not  of 
natural  causes. 

In  regard  to  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  these  ores  of  Huan- 
cavelica, M.  Crosnier  remarks,  that  they  have  nothing  in 
common  with  true  veins ;  on  the  contrary,  everything  seems 
to  indicate  that  the  metalliferous  matter  was  introduced  into 
the  strata  in  the  state  of  vapor,  at  the  time  when  they  were 
elevated  into  their  present  almost  vertical  position. 

According  to  Humboldt,  this  mine  yielded  from  1570  to 
1789,  1,040,452  quintals  of  metallic  mercury,  or  about  47,285 
tons ;  amounting  in  value,  at  the  price  paid  by  the  govern- 
ment, $73  per  quintal,  to  $75,954,257.  The  average  was  about 
6000  quintals  yearly,  and  the  produce  in  the  best  years  went 


MEXICO.  193 

up  to  10,500  quintals.     From  1790  to  1845  it  has  only  pro- 
duced about  66,000  quintals,  or  a  little  less  than  3000  tons. 

There  are  some  other  mines  of  this  metal  worked  in  Peru, 
but  they  are  of  less  importance  and  extent  than  those  of 
Huancavelica ;  the  total  yield  of  the  country  amounts  to 
about  203,000  Ibs.  per  annum,  aboiit  one-half  of  which  comes 
from  the  Santa  Barbara  mine. 

Mercury  is  found  in  many  other  localities  in  different 
parts  of  South  America,  but  none  of  them  appear  to  be 
of  much  importance.  Humboldt  mentions  cinnabar  as  oc- 
curring in  New  Grenada  in  three  places  ;  in  the  Province  of 
Antioquia,  in  the  Valle  de  Santa  Rosa ;  in  the  Quindiu 
Mountain ;  and  between  the  villages  of  Azogue  and  Cuen^a, 
in  the  Province  of  Quito.  At  this  locality  the  ore  is  obtained 
in  a  quartzose  sandstone,  of  great  thickness,  containing  fossil 
wood  and  bitumen. 

MEXICO. — An  immense  amount  of  mercury  is  consumed 
in  the  process  of  separating  the  silver  supplied  by  this 
country  from  its  ores ;  but  there  seem  to  be  no  mines  wrought 
within  its  territory,  although  there  are  numerous  localities 
where  the  ores  of  this  metal  have  been  found.  Humboldt 
and  Duport  mention  the  following  as  the  most  important : 
Gigante,  near  Guanaxuato ;  Blncon  de  Centeno,  near  Quere- 
taro ;  Durasno  ;  Sierra  de  Pifios,  and  other  places  in  the  de- 
partment of  San  Luis  Potosi ;  Melilla,  in  that  of  Zacatecas ; 
and  El  Doctor,  in  that  of  Queretaro. 

According  to  Humboldt,  the  ores  are  found  in  two  posi- 
tions quite  distinct  from  each  other ;  they  form  beds  in  the 
secondary  strata,  or  veins  which  traverse  the  porphyritic 
trappean  rocks.  At  Durasno,  cinnabar,  mixed  with  many 
globules  of  native  metal,  forms  a  horizontal  bed  resting  on 
the  porphyry,  and  covered  by  beds  of  shaly  clay  contain- 
ing fossil  wood  and  coal.  The  excavations  are  only  pits  a 
few  feet  in  depth.  This  seems  to  have  been  only  a  limited 
deposit,  although  several  hundred  quintals  were  at  one  time 
procured  from  it.  The  cinnabar  vein  of  San  Juan  de  la 
Chica  is  from  seven  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness ;  the  ores  are 
rich,  but  not  abundant.  The  geological  position  is  remarka- 
ble, since  it  is  found  in  a  pitchstone-porphyry,  having  a 

13 


194         CONSUMPTION    OF    MERCURY    IN    MEXICO. 

globular  structure.  It  had  been  worked,  at  the  time  of 
Humboldt's  visit,  to  a  depth  of  over  150  feet.  There  were 
then  only  two  mines  of  this  metal  wrought  in  Mexico  ;  one 
called  the  Lomo  del  Toro,  and  the  other  the  mine  of  2s"uestra 
Senora  de  los  Dolores,  southeast  of  Gigante,  yielding  from  70 
to  80  Ibs.  a  week.  About  1844,  workings  were  carried  on 
near  Guadalajara,  from  which  400  to  500  quintals  were 
produced. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  Mexico  consumed 
annually  16,000  quintals  of  mercury  in  the  separation  of  silver 
from  its  ores.  This  was  furnished  by  the  Spanish  government, 
to  which  alone  belonged  the  right  of  supplying  this  necessary 
metal,  which  was  procured  mostly  from  the  mines  of  Almaden 
and  Huancavelica.  From  1770  to  1802  a  small  amount  was  pur- 
chased of  the  Austrian  government  at  a  price  fixed  by  treaty, 
namely  $52  per  quintal ;  this  was  on  account  of  the  partial 
stoppage  of  the  Almaden  mines,  owing  to  their  being  flooded 
with  water.  From  1762  to  1781,  191,405  quintals  of  mer- 
cury were  thus  absorbed  by  Mexico.  The  price  at  which  it  was 
furnished  was,  in  1590,  §187  the  quintal,  but  it  gradually 
sunk,  and  was  in  1777  only  §41 J,  its  consumption  increasing 
rapidly  as  the  price  fell.  In  1844,  the  Spanish  government 
having  no  longer  any  interest  in  supplying  the  mercury  at  a 
low  price,  but  having  made  a  monopoly  of  it,  it  cost  in  the 
harbors  of  Mexico  about  §120,  and  in  the  mining  region  of 
Zacatecas  about  §165  the  quintal.  At  this  latter  period,  ac- 
cording to  Duport,  the  value  of  the  mercury  lost  in  separating 
the  silver  amounted  to  about  one-tenth  of  the  whole  cost  of  its 
production.  At  the  usual  standard  of  the  ores,  the  cost  of  the 
mercury  would  represent  0-0002  of  silver,  while  at  the  price 
at  which  it  was  furnished  by  Spain,  during  the  early  part  of 
the  century,  it  would  only  amount  to  0-000064.  The  differ- 
ence in  the  cost  of  producing  silver  caused  by  the  rise  in  the 
price  of  mercury  is  not  considered  by  Duport  and  others  who 
have  investigated  the  subject  to  be  a  very  serious  obstacle  to 
the  development  of  the  Mexican  mines.  The  superintendent 
of  the  Pachuca  and  Real  del  Monte  mines  makes  the  follow- 
ing statement  :*  "It  may  safely  be  assumed  that  no  known 

*  Stryker's  Ann.  Register. 


MERCURY    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  195 

mine  with  a  remunerative  content  of  silver  in  its  ores  is  at 
present  idle  from  the  high  price  of  mercury ;  and  we  must 
therefore  only  look  for  an  increased  produce  of  this  metal 
(silver)  from  mines  whose  ores,  although  abundant,  are  too 
poor  to  pay  the  cost  of  reduction."  A  poor  ore  is  considered 
by  him  to  he  one  not  yielding  over  27  oz.  to  the  ton.  In  his 
specification  of  the  expenditure  for  one  year  at  Real  del 
Monte,  the  cost  of  the  mercury  absorbed  is  given  as  only  -046 
of  the  entire  expense  of  the  establishment.  The  loss  of  mer- 
cury is  estimated  by  him  at  }  Ib.  for  each  mark  of  silver  pro- 
duced. 

UNITED  STATES. — No  mercury  is  known  to  have  been 
found  this  side  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  newspapers 
have  recently  brought  reports  of  the  discovery  of  important 
deposits  of  this  metal  in  its  native  state,  in  Hew  Mexico, 
about  40  miles  north  of  Santa  Fe\  According  to  these  state- 
ments, the  mercury  is  found  in  the  superficial  formation,  in 
small  globules,  which  are  easily  separated  from  the  dirt  by 
washing.  These  accounts  require  confirmation. 

The  existence  of  this  metal  in  California  was  known,  and 
works  were  established  there,  prior  to  the  late  gold  disco- 
veries. In  1845,  a  company  was  formed  to  work  a  very  im- 
portant and  extensive  deposit  of  cinnabar,  at  New  Almaden, 
in  one  of  the  side  valleys  of  the  San  Jose*,  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  main  valley.  From  a  description,  by  W.  P.  Blake, 
Esq.,  recently  published,*  the  following  notice  of  this  inte- 
resting mine  is  chiefly  extracted. 

The  ore  is  found  in  connection  with  sedimentary  strata, 
composed  of  alternating  beds  of  argillaceous  shales  and 
layers  of  flint,  which  are  tilted  up  at  a  high  angle,  and  much 
flexed.  They  are  considered  by  Mr.  Blake  to  be  of  Silurian 
age,  but  their  position  has  not  been  determined  with  cer- 
tainty. With  these  rocks  the  mercurial  ores  are  mingled  in 
a  series  of  beds  and  laminations,  of  great  number  and  ex- 
tent, so  that  the  whole  of  the  workings  are  very  irregular 
and  contorted.  The  masses  of  ore  are  separated  by  interca- 
lated strata  of  rock  of  variable  thickness,  which  are  them- 

•  Sill.  Am.  Jour.  (2),  xvii.  438. 


196  MINE    OF    NEW    ALMADEN. 

selves  often  filled  with  seams  and  bunches  of  the  sulphuret. 
Numerous  veins  of  carbonate  of  lime  traverse  the  rock  in 
various  directions,  cutting  through  the  ore  and  dislocating 
the  small  veins ;  and  the  same  mineral  lines  cavities  in  the 
masses  of  cinnabar,  being  there  finely  crystallized,  and  some- 
times containing  bitumen  in  minute  globules.  The  sul- 
phurets  of  iron  and  copper  and  arsenical  pyrites  are  asso- 
ciates of  the  ore,  but  they  occur  in  very  small  quantities. 
An  analysis  of  the  ore  by  Prof.  Hofimann  gave : — 

Mercury,  .....  67-25 

Sulphur,  .....  10-33 

Silica,  alumina,  &c.,       ....  22-55 

100-13 

The  mine  and  works  are  now  under  the  superintendence 
of  Capt.  H.  W.  Halleck,  formerly  of  the  U.  S.  Engineer 
Corps.  An  adit-level  has  been  driven  in  for  900  feet,  cut- 
ting the  old  works  about  200  feet  below  the  former  entrance 
to  the  mine ;  this  adit  is  about  10  feet  by  10,  and  well  tim- 
bered. 

The  furnaces  for  reducing  the  mercury  from  the  ore  are 
described  by  Mr.  Blake  as  being  well-arranged  and  effective, 
the  reduction  being  efifected  without  the  use  of  lime,  and 
without  crushing  the  ore.  About  a  hundred  workmen  are 
said  to  be  employed  at  the  mine  and  smelting-works  :  most 
of  them  are  Mexicans  and  Yaqui  Indians.  A  few  Cornish 
miners  have  also  been  introduced. 

The  only  statistics  of  the  actual  yield  of  this  mine  which  I 
have  seen  are  in  a  statement  in  the  San  Francisco  Herald, 
to  the  effect  that,  during  the  first  six  months  of  1853,  9047 
flasks  of  mercury,  of  100  Ibs.  each,  were  exported  from  San 
Francisco.  This  would  give,  at  the  same  rate  for  the  year, 
nearly  2,000,000  Ibs.  as  the  annual  yield  at  present,  which  is 
probably  too  much,  as  the  works  are  described  by  M.  Dillon* 
as  intended  to  produce  only  10,000  cwts.  It  appears  certain 
that  the  supply  of  ore  is  very  large,  and,  if  worked  properly, 
capable  of  holding  out  for  a  long  time. 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  i.  597. 


STATISTICS    OF    MERCURY. 


197 


The  annexed  table  shows  the  amount  (in  Ibs.  avoirdupois) 
of  mercury  produced  throughout  the  world,  so  far  as  it  has 
been  ascertained. 


Year. 

Austria. 

Spain. 

Peru. 

California. 

1800, 
1810, 
1820, 
1825,  

391,406 

('27)  2,264,000 

1830,  .         ... 

299  746 

1835 

465  326 

1840  

337,814 

1845,  
1846,  

489,227 
415430 

('44)  2,360,000 

1847,  
1848,  
1849        .... 

448,571 
460,398 

2,240,000 
2  500,000 

1850,  
1851, 
1852, 
1853,  

203,000 

1,000,000 

The  present  production  may  be  estimated  as  follows : — 


Austria,   . 
Spain, 
Peru, 
California, 


Ibs. 

500,000 
2,500,000 

200,000 
1,000,000(7) 

4,200,000 


Per  cent. 

11-9 

59-6 

4-7 

23-8 

100-0 


The  value  of  the  mercury  imported  into  this  country,  and 
retained  for  consumption,  was,  according  to  the  official  tables, 
as  follows : — 

1840, $43,513 


1841, 
1842, 
1843, 
1844, 
1845, 


59.587 
30,321 
35,114 
77,464 
54,993 


1846, 155,813 


1847, 
1848, 
1849, 
1850, 
1851, 


143,078 

2,092 

21,979 

79,350 

62,767 


CHAPTER  V. 

TIN. 
SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL   OCCURRENCE   AND   GEOLOGICAL   POSITION    OF   TIN. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — It  is  doubtful  whether  this 
metal  occurs  in  nature  in  its  native  state.  A  few  grayish- 
white  metallic  grains  were  detected  by  Hermann  in  the  gold- 
washings  of  the  Ural,  which  proved,  on  examination,  to  be  tin 
alloyed  with  a  little  lead ;  but  there  is  reason  to  doubt  whether 
these  may  not  have  been  of  artificial  origin.  Certainly,  if 
native  tin  does  occur,  it  must  be  an  extremely  rare  substance. 
Its  ores,  and  the  combinations  in  which  it  is  found,  are  very 
few  in  number.  Two  only  are  worthy  of  notice ;  these  are — 

Cassiterite,  or  Tin-stone ;  an  oxide  of  tin,  containing  one 
atom  of  the  metal  and  two  of  oxygen,  or,  in  percentage, 
78*62  of  tin  and  21-38  of  oxygen.  This  is  an  ore  which  is 
destitute  of  a  metallic  appearance.  Its  color  is  usually  a 
dark  brown  or  black.  It  not  unfrequently  occurs  finely 
crystallized  in  right  square  prisms ;  frequently  in  twin  crys- 
tals, which  sometimes  weigh  several  pounds.  The  finest 
crystallizations  are  found  in  Cornwall  and  the  Erzgebirge. 
Wood  tin  is  a  common  form  of  this  ore,  and  consists  of 
botryoidal  and  reniform  masses,  having  a  radiated  structure. 
This  is  the  ore  from  which  nearly  the  whole  of  the  tin  of 
commerce  is  derived. 

Tin  pyrites.  Bell-metal  ore.  A  sulphuret  of  tin  and  cop- 
per, with  a  little  iron  and  zinc.  It  is,  when  pure,  of  a  steel- 
gray  color,  but  has  often  the  appearance  of  bronze ;  hence 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    TIN    ORES.  199 

the  name,  bell-metal  ore.  This  is  a  species  of  rare  occur- 
rence :  its  principal  locality  is  Wheal  Rock  in  Cornwall,  and 
it  is  found,  in  small  quantity,  in  the  Saxon  and  Bohemian 
tin  mines. 

A  few  traces  of  tin  have  also  been  found  in  some  of  the 
ores  of  titanium  and  uranium ;  but,  compared  with  the 
other  metals  in  common  use,  it  is  a  rare  substance.  Not- 
withstanding this,  it  was  one  of  those  best  known  and  most 
used  by  the  ancients,  from  the  earliest  historic  times.  Long 
before  the  art  of  reducing  iron  from  its  ores  had  been 
acquired,  tin,  alloyed  with  copper,  forming  bronze,  was 
generally  applied,  by  those  nations  which  were  most  ad- 
vanced in  civilization,  to  the  fabrication  of  utensils  of 
household  and  warlike  use ;  but,  in  most  cases,  the  sources 
from  which  their  ores  were  derived  are  no  longer  known. 

At  present,  although  tin  mines  are  worked  in  several 
countries,  two  stanniferous  districts  may  be  said  to  supply 
the  world  with  this  metal,  since  the  amount  obtained  from 
other  sources  is  but  trifling  in  comparison  with  what  they 
furnish.  The  great  tin-producing  regions  are  Cornwall  in 
England,  and  the  islands  of  the  Malayan  Archipelago,  espe- 
cially Banca. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION. — Tin,  more  than  almost  any  other 
metal,  has  a  peculiar  and  characteristic  mode  of  occurrence. 
It  is  pre-eminently  an  old  metal,  since  it  is  not  found  at  all 
in  the  newer  rocks.  Neither  does  it  occur  disseminated 
through  nature,  like  silver,  copper,  or  iron,  or  even  arsenic, 
which  are  present  almost  everywhere,  if  not  in  quantity,  at 
least  in  minute  traces.  Tin  ore  is  confined  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  azoic,  metamorphic  palaeozoic,  and  hypogene 
rocks.  The  latter  is  its  characteristic  position. 

There  are  four  forms  in  which  the  deposits  of  the  ores  of 
this  metal  present  themselves :  1st.  In  flat  sheets  or  beds 
lying  between  the  laminae  of  the  slates  and  granites,  and 
parallel  with  them  and  each  other ;  each  deposit  is  usually 
quite  limited  in  its  dimensions,  although  frequently  accom- 
panied by  similar  ones  at  no  great  distance.  Such  sheets  of 
ore  are  called,  in  Cornwall,  floors,  and,  when  they  consist  of 
tin  ore,  tin  floors,  although  this  name  is  also  given  to  deposits, 


200  GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    TIN    ORES. 

to  which  the  name  of  stockwerk  would  be  more  properly 
applied.  They  seem  to  be  allied  in  character  to  contact 
deposits,  or  segregated  masses,  and  pass  into  the  next 
class,  which  is  that  most  characteristic  of  the  ores  of  this 
metal.  2d.  The  stockwerk,  in  which  form  of  deposit  the 
stanniferous  mass  is  made  up  of  an  assemblage  of  veins 
of  small  size,  in  which  the  ore  is  mostly  concentrated,  and 
which  ramify  through  the  rock,  which,  itself,  contains  oxide 
of  tin  disseminated  through  it  in  fine  particles  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  veins.  These  evidently  do  not  originate  in 
fissures,  although  frequently  approximately  parallel  with 
each  other.  Quartz  almost  invariably  forms  the  principal 
gangue  of  the  stanniferous  veins,  and  the  rock  itself,  in  their 
vicinity,  is  usually  more  quartzose  than  elsewhere.  3d.  The 
ores  of  tin  are  frequently  found  in  true  fissure-veins ;  but 
they  are  generally  believed,  in  such  cases,  not  to  continue  to 
a  great  depth,  being  frequently  replaced  by  copper  and  other 
metals.  It  is  usually  allowed,  that  where  there  are  several 
sets  of  veins  in  one  district,  those  which  carry  ores  of  tin 
are  the  oldest.  4th.  Tin-stone  is  very  extensively  obtained 
from  washings,  or  "  stream- works,"  as  they  are  called  in 
Cornwall,  the  ore  being  scattered  through  the  superficial 
detritus,  and  separated  from  it  by  the  same  methods  which 
are  applied  to  gold  and  platina,  as  already  noticed.  This  is 
the  character  of  the  deposits  of  Banca  and  the  Malayan 
Peninsula,  which  have  been  long  worked,  and  have  yielded 
extensively,  no  mining  in  the  solid  rock  having  been  as  yet 
practised  in  those  regions. 

The  metalliferous  substances  which  are  chiefly  obtained 
from  washings,  are  necessarily  such  as  are  not  liable  to 
undergo  decomposition  when  exposed  to  air  and  moisture. 
Gold,  platina,  and  the  associated  metals  are  of  this  character, 
and  would  remain  for  ever  unaltered,  except  from  the  action 
of  mechanical  causes.  Oxide  of  tin  possesses  similar  charac- 
ters, being  an  ore  which  does  not  readily  enter  into  new  com- 
binations with  carbonic  and  other  acids  with  which  it  is 
brought  in  contact  in  the  superficial  deposits.  Almost  all 
the  other  metallic  ores  under  the  same  circumstances  form 
various  salts,  some  of  which  are  soluble,  and  are  washed 


TIN    VEINS    OF    CORNWALL.  201 

away  entirely,  while  others  are  earthy  and  pulverulent,  and 
for  this  reason,  and  on  account  of  their  low  specific  gravity, 
could  not  be  collected  by  washing,  at  least  without  great 
loss. 

The  vein-stones  and  minerals  which  are  associated  with  the 
oxide  of  tin  are  remarkably  constant  in  their  nature,  all  over 
the  world.  They  are,  wolfram,  or  tungstate  of  iron  and  man- 
ganese, apatite,  topaz,  and  mica ;  sulphuret  of  molybdena, 
native  bismuth,  and  arsenical  pyrites  are  also  rarely  wanting 
where  tin  is  found.  Tourmaline  is  another  almost  constant 
companion  of  this  metal.  Sometimes  it  forms  a  part  of  the 
veins  themselves,  but  more  usually  it  occurs  disseminated 
through  the  rock  adjacent  to  them.  Where  these  minerals 
occur,  veins  of  tin  ore  may  be  reasonably  expected  to  be 
found. 


SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION    OF   TIN. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. — Cornwall  is  alike  celebrated  for  its  copper 
and  tin,  but  the  latter  metal  has  been  worked  there  for  a  very 
much  longer  time,  and  it  was  only  at  a  comparatively  recent 
period  that  copper  became  of  importance.*  The  Phoenicians 
were  the  earliest  traders  in  the  metal  obtained  from  that  re- 
gion, and  it  is  supposed  by  Mr.  Hawkins  that  Gadcs,  on  the 
western  coast  of  Spain,  was  the  entrepot  of  the  trade  between 
Phoenicia  and  Cornwall.  Diodorus  Siculus,  who  wrote  in 
the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  about  60  B.  C.,  gives  an  account  of 
the  tin  trade  of  Britain  ;  and  St.  -Michael's  Mount,  on  the 
Cornish  coast,  is  considered  to  have  been  identified  as  the 
market  where  it  was  carried  on.  When  bells  came  to  be 
generally  used,  the  demand  for  tin  increased  rapidly,  and 
still  more  on  the  introduction  of  bronze  cannon,  and  for  a 
long  time  the  continent  of  Europe  was  supplied  from  Corn- 
wall with  the  necessary  metal  for  these  purposes,f  Bruges 

*  Trans.  Geol.  Soc.  Cornwall,  iii.  1 1G.    |  De  la  Beche,  Geology  of  Cornwall,  p.  525. 


202  GEOLOGY    OF    CORNWALL. 

being  the  emporium  of  the  trade;  and  had  not  the  East 
Indian  deposits  of  this  metal  been  discovered,  England  would 
still  have  almost  a  complete  monopoly  of  it, 

GEOLOGICAL   STRUCTURE    OF    THE    CORNISH    MINING   REGION. 

It  will  here  be  a  proper  place  to  introduce  some  account  of 
the  geological  formation  of  Cornwall,  a  country  so  important 
in  the  development  of  the  metallic  wealth  of  the  world,  and 
especially  interesting  to  us,  from  the  fact  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  miners  employed  in  our  own  mines  come  from  thence, 
bringing  with  them  peculiar  ideas,  based  on  their  experi- 
ence in  a  region  which  presents  the  most  complicated  and 
extensive  network  of  metallic  veins,  which  is  thus  far  known 
to  exist.  We  consider  it  important  to  give  a  succinct  account 
of  these  phenomena,  in  order  to  show  the  peculiar  character 
of  the  Cornish  mining  region,  a  district  which  has  nothing 
analogous  to  it  in  this  country,  where  the  modes  of  occurrence 
of  the  metals  are  so  different,  as  to  make  the  experience 
obtained  in  Cornwall  of  little  value,  when  applied  to  our  own 
veins. 

The  best  descriptions  of  Cornwall  have  been  given  by  De 
la  Beche,  in  his  "  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Cornwall, 
Devon,  and  West  Somerset,"  and  by  the  French  mining  engi- 
neers, who  have  also  investigated  the  metallurgic  treatment 
of  the  ores  with  consummate  ability.* 

There  are  three  well-marked  groups  of  rocks,  distinguished 
everywhere  by  the  miners  under  the  names  of  growan,  killas, 
and  elvan,  or,  in  the  usual  geological  language,  granite,  slate, 
and  porphyry.  De  la  Bcche  distinguishes  between  the  mica 
and  hornblende  slates,  and  the  grauwacke  group.  The 
former  are  developed  in  the  Lizard  district,  and  these  rocks 
he  seems  disposed  to  refer  to  the  azoic,  while  the  grauwacke 
group,  including  sedimentary  deposits,  varying  from  the 
finest  roofing  slates  to  conglomerates,  some  of  the  compo- 
nent parts  of  which  weigh  more  than  half  a  ton,  belongs  to 

*  See  Dufrenoy,  Elie  de  Beaumont,  Coste,  and  Perdonnet,  Voyage  Metallurgique 
en  Angleterre,  2  vols.  and  atlas,  Paris,  2d  ed.,  1839.  Also,  Annales  des  Mines,  for 
various  articles,  especially  an  elaborate  one  by  Le  Play,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4), 
xiii.  1. 


GEOLOGY    OF    CORNWALL.  203 

the  palaeozoic  system.  So  complete  is  the  metamorphosis 
which  has  been  effected  in  these  rocks,  and  so  difficult  the 
task  of  unravelling  the  complicated  foldings  which  they  have 
undergone,  that  it  will  be  long  before  they  will  be  classified 
with  precision. 

The  miners  call  all  the  slaty  rocks  killas,  but  the  type  of 
the  killas  is  a  greenish  argillaceous  slate,  in  which  are  the 
principal  copper  mines.  The  name  elvan  is  given  to  any 
rocky  masses  which  occur  in  the  slates  and  granites,  and  dis- 
place the  veins,  or  derange  the  stratification  of  the  rocks.  In 
general,  however,  it  is  applied  to  the  long  lines  of  porphy- 
ritic  rock,  which  differ  from  trap  dykes  only  in  the  minera- 
logical  composition  of  the  material,  being  rather  a  porphyritic 
granite,  and  more  feldspathic  than  hornblendic.  These 
elvans,  though  narrow,  varying  from  a  few  to  300  or  400 
feet  in  width,  may  frequently  be  traced  for  a  great  distance ; 
the  longest  one  being  at  least  12  miles  in  length.  With  re- 
gard to  their  mineral  components, De  la  Beche  says:  "These 
elvans  have,  for  the  most  part,  a  common  mineral  character, 
being  chiefly  composed  of  a  feldspathic,  perhaps  often  a 
quartzo-feldspathic  base,  containing  crystals  of  feldspar  and 
quartz,  either  singly  or  together,  in  the  same  rock;  schorl 
less  frequently,  and,  still  more  rarely,  mica." 

There  are  six  principal,  isolated  masses  of  granite,  besides 
smaller  patches,  extending  in  a  general  linear  direction  from 
north  66°  east,  to  south  66°  west.  This  rock,  as  it  is  exhi- 
bited in  Cornwall,  is  made  up  of  the  usual  ingredients,  quartz, 
feldspar,  and  mica,  with  the  addition  of  schorl  or  black  tour- 
maline, which  is  very  common  along  the  confines  of  the 
granitic  masses,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stanniferous  lodes ; 
this  is  a  general  fact  with  regard  to  other  accidental  minerals ; 
they  are  almost  entirely  concentrated  near  the  junction  of 
the  two  formations,  the  granite  and  the  killas ;  and  here  also 
are  the  stockwerk  deposits  and  the  veins  of  tin.  These  two 
rocks  do  not  pass  into  each  other  by  insensible  gradations, 
but  the  only  change  that  has  taken  place  in  the  killas  seems 
to  be  a  hardening,  the  granite  penetrating  it  frequently  in 
ramifying  veins  and  interlacing  with  it. 

The  metalliferous  region  of  Cornwall  and  Devon  is  divided 


204  GEOLOGY    OF     CORNWALL. 

by  De  la  Beche  into  six  groups ;  that  of  Tavistbck  ;  of  St. 
Austell ;  of  St.  Agnes ;  of  Gwennap,  Redruth,  and  Cam- 
borne  ;  that  of  Breague,  Marazion,  and  Gwinear ;  that  of  St. 
Just  and  St.  Ives.  Of  these  divisions,  the  first  bears  copper, 
tin,  and  silver-lead ;  the  second,  that  of  St.  Austell,  is  stanni- 
ferous ;  the  third,  the  great  mining  district  of  Gwennap,  Red- 
ruth,  and  Camborne,  is  chiefly  cupriferous ;  the  fourth  is  of  a 
mixed  character,  bearing  tin  and  copper  with  some  lead  and 
silver ;  the  district  of  St.  Just  and  St.  Ives  is  chiefly  stanni- 
ferous. The  ores  of  copper  and  tin  are  invariably  found  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  granite  or  elvans. 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  veins  of  the  Cornish  mining 
region  and  their  relation  to  each  other,  both  of  age  and  posi- 
tion, and  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  ores  in  them.  It  will 
be  easily  understood  that  these  things  have  been  thoroughly 
investigated  and  studied  out  in  a  district  where  there  was 
such  a  large  amount  of  capital  invested  in  mining  operations, 
and  that  the  accumulated  experience  of  hundreds  of  years 
has  made  many  things  very  plain,  which  were  at  first  un- 
doubtedly difficult  to  decipher. 

The  first  thing  to  be  noticed  in  this  relation  is  the  fact 
of  the  occurrence  of  numerous  faults,  as  they  are  termed, 
or  fractures  of  the  strata,  which  stretch  alonsr  sometimes  for 

O 

great  distances,  entirely  interrupting  the  continuity  of  the 
rocks  on  each  side.  This  actual  severing  of  the  strata  is  also 
accompanied  by  a  vertical  displacement,  so  that  they  are  no 
longer  in  their  original  position,  portions  of  the  region 
having  been  lifted  up  or  sunk  down  below  their  former  level. 
These  faults  have  either  a  north  and  south  or  an  east  and 
west  direction,  though  of  course,  with  many  minor  varia- 
tions. When  such  dislocations  have  taken  place  among  the 
stratified  and  fossiliferous  rocks,  it  is  easy  to  ascertain  the 
amount  of  vertical  displacement  which  has  taken  place,  since 
beds  of  dissimilar  character,  either  in  respect  to  the  organic 
remains  enclosed  in  them  or  in  mineralogical  composition, 
are  thus  brought  in  contact  with  each  other.  In  the  unstra- 
tified  and  older  slaty  rocks,  on  the  other  hand,  where  masses 
of  the  same  general  appearance  are  brought  together,  this  is 
not  always  possible.  If,  however,  there  are  fissures  filled 


SYSTEMS    OF    VEINS.  205 

with  mineral  matter,  and  two  such  fissures  cross  each  other, 
it  will  be  easy,  to  ascertain  whether  they  were  contempora- 
neous, and,  if  not,  which  was  first  formed,  since  the  oldest 
will  be  cut  through  by  the  more  recent  one,  and  will  have  its 
continuity  completely  interrupted. 

Mr.  Carne  divided  the  veins  and  fissures  of  this  district 
into  seven  groups,  as  follows :  1,  elvan  courses ;  2,  tin  lodes ; 
3,  east  and  west  copper  lodes;  4,  contra  copper  lodes;  5, 
cross-courses ;  6,  more  recent  copper  lodes ;  7,  cross-flucans 
and  slides.  This  classification,  however,  is  in  some  respects 
fanciful,  since  the  copper  lodes  cannot  be  separated  into  so 
many  groups  as  he  imagined.  It  is  clear,  however,  that 
there  were  several  distinct  periods  of  disturbance,  and  con- 
sequently as  many  sets  of  fissures.  The  following  are 
definitely  ascertained :  First,  the  elvan  courses,  which  are 
subordinate  to  the  main  granitic  masses  of  the  district,  and 
traverse  them,  but  which  are  cut  by  all  the  metalliferous 
veins.  Their  direction  is  nearly  that  of  the  granite  ranges 
themselves.  The  second  epoch  is  that  of  the  east  and  west 
veins,  or  the  great  metalliferous  lodes,  which  have  in  general 
the  same  direction  as  the  elvans ;  but  which  intersect,  and 
are  therefore  posterior  to  them.  De  la  Beche,  who  has  cer- 
tainly studied  the  subject  with  as  much  care  as  any  one,  and 
who  is  remarkably  cautious  in  advancing  mere  theoretical 
opinions,  does  not  divide  the  east  and  west  lodes,  or  those 
having  approximately  that  direction,  into  groups,  or  profess 
to  be  able  to  distinguish  between  their  relative  ages.  It  is 
generally  asserted,  however,  that  the  tin  veins  are  the  oldest; 
but  it  would  seem  that  this  could  hardly  be  considered  as  a 
general  rule,  since  there  is  in  reality  no  set  of  tin  veins  dis- 
tinct from  those  bearing  copper,  the  same  lode  often  carry- 
ing the  two  metals  at  different  points  of  its  course.  The 
third  set  of  fissures  are  the  cross-courses,  or  veins  and  fissures 
with  a  general  north  and  south  course.  The  cross-courses 
cut  the  east  and  west  lodes  at  a  considerable  angle,  which  in 
the  vicinity  of  Tavistock  varies  from  70°  to  90°,  and  it  is 
frequently  very  nearly  a  right  angle.  In  that  district,  the 
cross-courses  carry  argentiferous  galena ;  and  at  Beer  Alston 
are  extensively  mined.  The  Dartmoor  lodes  run  nearly  east 


206  OCCURRENCE    OF    TIN    IN    CORNWALL. 

and  west,  and  some  of  them  are  cut  by  an  argentiferous  north 
and  south  cross-course.  In  the  St.  Austell  district,  while  the 
general  direction  of  the  fractures  remains  the  same,  there  are 
probably  three  epochs  of  dislocation,  a  part  of  the  region 
having  been  heaved  or  moved  nearly  a  tenth  of  a  mile.  In 
the  Polgooth  mines,  however,  the  fractures  have  a  radiated 
character,  diverging  from  a  common  centre.  In  the  great 
Gwennap,  Redruth,  and  Camborne  district,  the  veins  pre- 
serve a  remarkable  degree  of  parallelism,  and  have  a  west- 
southwest  and  east-northeast  course.  They  are  traversed  by 
cross-courses  running  nearly  at  right  angles  to  them.  One 
of  these,  called  the  Great  Cross-Course,  can  be  traced  for 
many  miles,  heaving  the  country  from  seventy  to  eighty 
fathoms  horizontally.  Many  others  traverse  this  district; 
one  of  which  intersects  the  east  end  of  the  Dolcoath  mine, 
separating  it  from  the  Cook's  Kitchen  mine. 

These  north  and  south  fractures,  or  the  great  cross-courses, 
were  evidently  the  result  of  the  last  great  disturbance,  as  they 
cut  through  all  the  veins  and  elvans,  and  there  are  no  later 
fissures  except  the  so-called  east  and  west  slides.  These 
slides  and  cross-flucans,  as  they  are  called,  are  barren  of  ore, 
being  filled  with  clay ;  they  are  on  this  account  of  a  good 
deal  of  practical  importance,  inasmuch  as  they  act  as  an 
effectual  barrier  of  the  water.  They  are  of  a  comparatively 
modern  date,  certainly  later  than  the  chalk  in  some  cases, 
and  probably  in  all. 

OCCURRENCE    OF   TIN    IN    CORNWALL. 

Having  thus  given  a  general  description  of  the  vein-phe- 
nomena of  the  Cornish  mining  district,  we  come  to  speak 
more  particularly  of  the  modes  of  occurrence  of  the  tin  in 
that  region.  These  are  four  in  number :  1st.  In  beds  between 
the  strata,  or  so-called  tin  floors  ;  these  are  thin  masses  of  ore 
lying  in  the  direction  of  the  stratification.  They  are  found 
in  the  killas,  generally  not  far  from  the  granite,  and  are 
sometimes  accompanied  by  floors  of  schorlf  called  in  Corn- 
wall, cockle.  Although  these  floors  do  not  always  seem  to 
be  connected  with  the  stanniferous  veins,  yet  they  are  in 
most  cases  subordinate  to  them.  2d.  Stockwerk  deposits: 


TIN    IN    CORNWALL.  207 

these  are  also  called  tin  floors  by  the  miners.  They  occur 
in  the  granite  and  elvan.  The  Carclase  mine  near  St.  Aus- 
tell  is  in  the  granite  and  was  formerly  extensively  worked, 
and  was  open  to  the  day  like  a  quarry.  It  presented  an 
aggregation  of  small  veins  traversing  the  decomposed  granite 
in  various  directions,  and  made  up  of  tourmaline  and  quartz 
with  oxide  of  tin  disseminated  through  it.  3d.  The  true  veins. 
Much  the  largest  part  of  the  tin  is  obtained  from  this  source. 
The  greater  number  of  tin  veins  are  found  in  the  granite, 
although  the  richest  ones  are  in  the  killas,  and  the  most  pro- 
ductive portion  of  them  is  near  the  junction  of  these  two 
rocks.  4th.  Stream  ivories.  These  are  now  nearly  exhausted, 
after  centuries  of  working.  The  most  extensive  and  produc- 
tive, in  1839,  were  those  of  Pentowan,  near  St.  Austell.  The 
tin-stone  was  found  in  the  form  of  fine  grains  and  pebbles  at 
the  bottom  of  the  ancient  alluvial  deposits,  covered  by  from 
twenty  to  seventy  feet  of  alternating  beds  of  sand  and  clay. 

According  to  Mr.  J.  Y.  Watson,*  the  tin  mines  of  Corn- 
wall, taken  in  the  aggregate,  have  not  been  profitable  for 
many  years.  From  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  to  George  L, 
the  black  tin  produced  averaged  1500  tons  annually;  the 
produce  then  increased,  and  in  the  year  1742  a  proposal  was 
made  by  the  Mines  Royal  Company,  in  London,  to  raise 
£140,000  to  encourage  the  tin  trade,  by  farming  that  com- 
modity for  several  years  at  a  certain  price.  A  committee 
of  Cornish  gentlemen  was  appointed  to  consider  the  pro- 
posals, and  they  reported,  "  That  the  quantity  of  tin  raised 
yearly  in  Cornwall,  at  an  average,  for  many  years  last  past, 
hath  been  about  2100  tons,"  and  resolved,  that  £3  9s.  for 
grain  tin,  and  <£3  5s.  for  common  tin,  are  the  lowest  prices 
for  which  such  tin  will  be  sold  to  the  contractors,  exclusive 
of  all  coinage  duties  and  fees.  From  the  year  1750  to  1837, 
the  annual  produce  never  exceeded  5000  tons,  but  generally 
averaged  2500  to  3500  tons.  In  the  latter  year,  an  applica- 
tion having  been  made  to  the  government  to  abolish  the 
duty,  the  state  of  the'  mines  was  officially  ascertained,  and 
the  result  showed  that,  upon  58  mines,  the  loss  was  £80,517, 

*  English  Mining  Journal,  No.  692. 


208  PRODUCTION    OF    TIN     IN    CORNWALL. 

and  upon  10  the  profit  was  £20,358,  showing  a  net  loss  of 
,£60,159.  Within  the  last  year,  however,  the  tin  mines  of 
Cornwall  have  been  much  more  profitable,  owing  to  the  rise 
in  the  price  of  that  metal. 

The  principal  tin  district  is  that  of  St.  Just,  which  produces 
this  metal  chiefly;  it  is  about  three  miles  long  and  one  and  a 
half  broad.  In  this  district  are  several  tin  stream-works,  the 
chief  of  which  is  Carnon.  The  mines  which  have  produced 
most  considerably  in  the  past  year  are:  Botallack,  Balles- 
widden,Boscean,  Levant,  Spearne  Consols,  and  Wheal  Owles. 

Other  important  mines  now  yielding  a  considerable  amount 
of  tin  are :  Polberro  and  Wheal  Kitty,  in  the  parish  of  St. 
Agnes ;  Lewis  and  West  Providence,  in  St.  Erth ;  Trelyon 
Consols  and  St.  Ives  Consols,  in  St.  Ives;  Great  Polgooth, 
in  St.  Austell ;  Drake  Walls,  in  Calstock ;  and,  finally,  Dol- 
coath,  in  Camborne. 

Up  to  1838,  the  number  of  blocks  of  tin  produced  in  Corn- 
wall and  Devon  is  accurately  known,  although  the  exact 
weight  of  a  block  appears  to  be  somewhat  doubtful ;  taking 
it  at  the  amount  fixed  by  De  la  Beche,  3-34  cwts.,  we  have 
the  following  table  of  the  annual  produce  of  this  metal  from 
1T50  up  to  1838 ;  the  sums  given  for  the  years  up  to  1835 
being  the  average  of  each  period  of  five  years : — 


Tons. 

1750-54,  .  .    .  2804 

1755-59,  .  .    .  2955 

17GO-64,  .  .    .  2827 

17G5-G9,  .  .    .  3083 

1770-74,  .  .    .  3092 

1775-79,  .  .    .  2866 

1780-84,  .  .    .  2890 

1785-89,  .  .    .  3520 

1790-94,  .  .    .  3689 

1795-99,  .  ...  3341 

1800-4,  .  2810 


Tons. 

1805-9,    .    .    .  2681 

1810-14,   .    .    .  2406 

1815-19,   .    .    .  3540 

1820-24,   .    .    .  3592 

1825-29,   .    .    .  4549 

1830-34,   .    .    .  4023 

1835,  ....  4027 

1836,  ....  3862 

1837,  ....  4562 

1838,  ....  4887 


Since  1838  the  production  of  tin  is  supposed  to  have  in- 
creased considerably.  The  ore,  as  taken  from  the  mines,  is 
very  variable  in  richness,  being  sometimes  as  low  as  2  or  3 
per  cent.,  but  it  is  raised,  by  washing  and  dressing  in  various 
ways,  so  as  to  produce  from  66  to  TO  per  cent.  In  1850,  ac- 


TIN    IN    SAXONY.  209 

cording  to  De  la  Beche,*  10,052  tons  of  ore  were  produced, 
which  would  give  as  the  product  of  metallic  tin  about  7000 
tons,  a  quantity  which  agrees  very  nearly  with  other  esti- 
mates which  have  been  made. 

SAXONY. — The  most  important  tin  localities  in  Saxony  are 
those  of  Geyer,  Altenberg,  Zinnwald,  and  Auersberg,  in  the 
Erzgebirge.  At  Zinnwald,  the  stanniferous  district  is  partly 
in  Bohemia. 

At  Geyer,  the  rock  most  directly  connected  with  the  tin 
veins  is  a  granite,  consisting  chiefly  of  decomposed  feldspar, 
containing  apatite,  tourmaline,  and  fluor-spar.  The  ore  is 
in  numerous  small  parallel  veins,  and  disseminated  in  the 
adjacent  rock.  The  veins  are  rarely  over  two  inches  wide, 
and  they  have  no  defined  selvages,  but  shade  off  gradually 
into  the  granite. 

The  tin  ore  of  Zinnwald  is  found  in  a  granitic  rock,  com- 
posed mainly  of  quartz  and  mica,  which  forms  a  flattened 
dome-shaped  mass  rising  through  the  porphyry.  Frequently 
the  whole  mass  of  the  rock  is  stanniferous,  but  the  most  pro- 
ductive deposits  are  in  nearly  horizontal  layers,  composed  of 
quartz,  mica,  and  oxide  of  tin,  with  a  great  variety  of  other 
minerals.  About  thirty  of  these  deposits  are  known,  of 
which  nine  are  worked.  These  beds  or  veins  are  not  strictly 
horizontal,  but  seem  to  form  layers  concentric  with  the 
granitic  mass,  which  dip  at  a  greater  angle  as  they  approach 
its  limits  in  cveiy  direction. 

At  Altenberg,  the  stanniferous  rock  is  a  porphyritic  mass, 
which  is  intersected  by  a  great  number  of  small  veins  run- 
ning in  every  direction  and  interlacing  with  each  other, 
constituting  a  true  stockwerk  deposit.  Not  only  are  these 
veins  stanniferous,  but  the  adjacent  rock  is  impregnated  with 
metallic  particles,  though  not  so  richly  as  the  veins  them- 
selves, the  best  portion  being  at  their  intersections.  The 
whole  mass  is  stamped  and  washed,  the  yield  of  metal  not 
being  more  than  one  to  two  per  cent. 

The  principal  yield  of  tin,  at  present,  is  from  the  Alten- 
berg mines,  and  amounts  to  about  $50,000  in  value.  The 

*  Lectures  on  the  Results  of  the  Exhibition.     Lect.  II.,  p.  62. 
14 


210    TIN    MINES    IN    THE    MALAYAN    ARCHIPELAGO. 

whole  product  of  the  Saxon  and  Bohemian  tin  mines,  in  the 
most  favorable  years,  is  not  more  than  one-fifteenth  of  that 
of  Cornwall. 

AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. — The  only  tin  mines  worked  in  this 
country  are  those  of  the  Erzgebirge,  which,  as  before  re- 
marked, are  partly  in  Saxony  and  partly  in  Austria.  They 
have  already  been  sufficiently  alluded  to.  The  principal 
mines  are  at  Zinnwald,  Schlackenwald,  and  Abertham.  The 
total  production  only  amounts  to  about  fifty  tons  a  year. 

FRANCE. — There  are  no  workable  mines  of  tin  in  France, 
although  this  metal  is  found  in  several  localities.  Its  mode 
of  occurrence  seems  to  be  in  every  respect  similar  to  that  of 
Cornwall.  At  Yaury,  in  the  Department  of  Haute  Vienne, 
the  ore  is  found  in  narrow  quartz  veins  in  a  species  of  granite, 
accompanied  by  the  usual  minerals.  In  the  Morbihan,  at 
Villeder,  there  is  also  a  powerful  quartz  vein,  near  the  junc- 
tion of  granite  and  slate ;  the  tin  ore  is  disseminated  through 
the  vein  where  mica  and  schorl  occur  in  it,  but  the  quantity 
appears  to  be  too  small  to  be  worked.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  ore  occurring  at  Piriac,  near  Mantes. 

SPAIN. — There  are  several  localities  in  this  country  where 
tin  ore  has  been  found ;  but  the  produce  of  metal  amounts  to 
only  a  few  tons  annually.  According  to  Schulz  and  Paillette,* 
tin  is  found  in  the  districts  of  Penouta  and  Romilo,  in  the 
Province  of  Orense,  in  narrow  veins  traversing  granite  and 
mica  slate ;  between  Yerin  and  Monterry,  on  the  borders  of 
Portugal,  in  a  similar  position ;  and  finally,  near  the  line 
between  the  provinces  of  Orense  and  Pondevedra,  in  veins 
from  one  to  eight  inches  wide,  contained  in  mica  and  horn- 
blende slate,  near  its  junction  with  granite.  The  usual  mine- 
rals which  accompany  tin  ores  occur  here  also.  All  these 
localities  are  in  Gallicia. 

MALAYAN  ARCHIPELAGO. — BANCA. — The  mines  of  Banca 
are  said  to  have  been  discovered  in  the  year  1710-11.  They 
are,  in  general,  worked  by  the  Chinese.  Crawfurd  says:f 
"  The  quantity  of  tin  which  the  mines  of  Banca  are  capable 
of  affording  is  immense,  as  the  supply  of  ore  is  nearly  indefi- 

*  Bull,  de  la  Soc.  Geol.  de  France,  vii.  16. 
t  Hist.  Indian  Archipelago,  iii.  462  (1820). 


BANG  A.  211 

nite,  and  the  facility  for  working  great.  About  the  year 
1750,  or  forty  years  after  their  discovery,  they  yielded,  as  has 
been  calculated,  much  above  120,000  slabs,  or  66,000  piculs, 
=  3,870  tons.  About  the  year  1780  the  produce  had  fallen 
to  30,000  piculs,  or  to  less  than  half  its  maximum,  and,  from 
1799  until  the  British  conquest,  seldom  exceeded  one-third 
of  this  last  amount,  or  10,000  piculs.  In  1817  the  produce 
reached  2083  tons,  higher  wages  having  been  paid  to  the 
workmen." 

The  tin  is  obtained  exclusively  from  the  recent  (alluvial  ?) 
deposits,  which  are  horizontally  stratified,  and  consist  of  beds 
of  variously-colored  clays  and  sands,  the  tin  being  found  at  a 
depth  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  below  the  surface,  resting  on 
a  bed  of  white  clay  of  a  peculiar  character,  which  is  con- 
sidered by  the  Chinese  miners  as  an  unequivocal  indication 
of  the  termination  of  the  stanniferous  stratum.*  The  process 
of  mining  is  of  the  simplest  kind,  and  the  excavations  are 
mere  open  pits,  the  whole  of  the  surface  being  turned  over. 
The  fragments  of  rocks  found  accompanying  the  ore  indicate 
that  the  formation  from  which  the  tin  was  derived  was  a 
granite,  containing  schorl  in  considerable  quantity.  The 
process  of  decomposition  and  denudation  must,  however, 
have  been  on  the  most  extensive  scale,  since  the  rock  seems 
hardly  to  be  found  in  place  anywhere  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  mines. 

The  Banca  tin  of  commerce  is  very  pure,  as  is  shown  by 
the  following  analysis,  made  by  Mulder.  According  to  him, 
it  contained — 

Tin, 99-961 

Iron, -019 

Lead, -014 

Copper, -006 


100-00 

The  tin  of  Banca  finds  its  way  into  almost  every  part  of 
the  world.  A  portion  of  it  goes  to  China  and  the  continent 
of  India ;  but  how  much,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  That 
which  is  destined  for  Europe  is  sold  at  auction  at  Rotterdam 
and  Amsterdam,  annually  or  semi-annually.  The  following 

*  Thomas  Horsfield,  M.D.,  in  Journal  of  Indian  Archipelago,  iii.  No.  7  (1848). 


212 


TIN    ORES    IN    SOUTH    AMERICA  —  MEXICO. 


are  the  amounts  which  have  been  thus  sold  for  the  last  six- 
teen years : — 


Year. 

Slabs. 

Tons. 

Year. 

Slabs. 

Tons. 

1837,  .  . 

28,041 

.  .   940 

1846, 

.  .   60,090 

.  .  2000 

1S38-9,   . 

58,133 

.  .  1940 

1847, 

.  .  119,955 

.  .  4000 

1840,  .  . 

27,520 

.  .   920 

1848, 

.  .   84,943 

.  .  2830 

1841,  .  . 

54,241 

.  .  1810 

1849, 

.  .  249,937 

.  .  8330 

1842,  .  . 

78,299 

.  .  2610 

1850, 

.  .  117,766 

.  .  3925 

1843,  .  . 

95,439 

.  .  3180 

1851, 

.  .  111.181 

.  .  3705 

1844,  .  . 

63,160 

.  .  2105 

1852, 

.  .  156,702 

.  .  5225 

1845,  ..  . 

75,102 

.  .  2505 

1853, 

.  .  112,305 

.  .  3745 

MALAYAN  PENINSULA. — The  first  tin  mine  worked  in  this 
region  was  opened  in  1793.*  The  principal  mine,  at  Gas- 
sang,  is  worked  by  2200  Chinese.  The  excavations,  mines 
they  can  hardly  be  called,  are  in  the  swampy  flats  at  the  base 
of  the  hills,  and  are  not  more  than  from  six  to  twenty  feet 
deep:  they  follow  certain  "streams  of  ore,"  which  extend 
for  two  or  three  miles.  The  Malayans  themselves  are  too 
lazy  to  work  the  mines  to  any  depth.  The  quantity  annually 
exported  from  Malacca  is  estimated  at  from  900  to  1000  tons. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. — The  only  mines  of  tin  known  to  be 
worked  in  South  America,  are  in  Bolivia,  at  Guanuni. 
They  are  considered,  by  D'Orbigny,  to  be  of  great  rich- 
ness, f  although  only  worked,  at  present,  to  a  very  trifling 
extent,  in  order  to  provide  return  freight  for  mules  coming 
from  Peru  with  brandy.  He  estimates  their  produce  at  from 
180  to  225  tons  annually. 

MEXICO. — At  the  time  of  Humboldt's  visit,  tin  was  ob- 
tained from  washings  at  Gigante,  San  Felipe,  Robledal,  and 
San  Miguel  el  Grande,  in  the  province  of  Guanaxuato,  and 
between  the  towns  of  Xeres  and  Villa  ^"ueva  in  Zacatecas. 
The  ore,  according  to  Humboldt,J  appeared  to  have  origi- 
nated in  veins  traversing  the  porphyritic  trap,  but  the  only 
workings  were  in  the  alluvial  deposits. 

The  amount  of  this  tin  exported  in  1803  was  only  58J 
quintals ;  and  it  appears  that  the  washings  must  now  be 

*  J.  B.  Westerhout,  in  E.  Mining  Jour.,  Aug.  26,  1848. 
"f  D'Orbigny's  Travels,  vol.  iii.  of  History,  p.  316. 
J  La  Nouvelle  Espagne,  ii.  581. 


LOCALITIES   OF   TIN    ORE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.   213 

pretty  much  exhausted  and  abandoned,  as  there  is  no  infor- 
mation of  any  production  of  that  metal  in  Mexico  at  the 
present  time. 

UNITED  STATES. — A  single  crystal  of  oxide  of  tin,  weigh- 
ing fifty  grains,  was  found  by  President  Hitchcock,  State 
Geologist,  many  years  since,  at  Goshen,  Massachusetts.*  It 
was  contained  in  granite.  This  was  the  first  discovery  of 
this  metal  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  Since 
that  it  has  been  found  at  various  places  in  small  quantity. 
Prof.  C.  U.  Shepard  has  noticed  it,  in  minute  crystals,  at 
Chesterfield,  in  Massachusetts ;  and  Prof.  Rogers  has  de- 
tected it  in  the  talco-micaceous  slates  of  the  gold  mines  in 
Virginia. 

The  only  locality  in  this  country  where  this  ore  has  been 
found  in  any  noticeable  quantity,  is  at  Jackson,  E"ew  Hamp- 
shire, where  it  was  discovered  by  Dr.  C.  T.  Jackson  in  1840, 
on  land  belonging  to  Mr.  "Win.  Eastman.  It  occurs  in  mica 
slate,  in  three  or  four  small  veins,  which  run  in  different 
directions  and  intersect  each  other  within  a  space  of  200  to 
300  feet  square.  The  widest  part  of  the  principal  vein  was 
eight  inches,  and  there  it  yielded  thirty  per  cent,  of  tin ;  the 
others  are  small  strings,  mostly  less  than  an  inch  in  width. 
Associated  with  this  ore  is  an  abundance  of  arsenical  pyrites, 
and  small  quantities  of  copper  pyrites,  together  with  the 
usual  minerals  found  with  tin,  namely,  fluor-spar,  tourmaline, 
sulphuret  of  molybdena,  and  others. 

The  ore  was  considered  by  Dr.  Jackson  to  be  sufficiently 
abundant  to  be  profitably  worked;  but  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  become  the  object  of  mining  enterprise. 

The  production  of  tin  of  the  various  parts  of  the  world 
is  summed  up  in  the  following  table,  so  far  as  it  can  be 
ascertained  with  any  certainty.  In  regard  to  the  product 
of  the  Malayan  Archipelago  the  estimates  are  very  vague, 
since  we  do  not  know  what  portion  of  it  goes  to  China  and 
East  India.  But  it  will  be  seen  at  once  how  insignificant 
that  portion  is  which  is  furnished  by  Europe,  apart  from 
England,  and  the  American  continent.  The  weights  are 
given  in  tons. 

*  Final  Rep.  on  the  Geol.  of  Mass.,  i.  205. 


214 


STATISTICS     OF    TIN. 


ji 

i-gg, 

'3 

^  5-f 

Year. 

w 

£ 

CS 

5  ~3'- 

B- 

« 

0 

^ 

c 

K  ^  ^ 

'^) 

« 

3 

'3 
c. 

j='S<sJ 

o 

0 

cc 

«! 

fi 

S 

pa 

1800, 

2.800 

1810, 

2,400 

1820, 

S,600 

1825, 

4,550 

142 

35 

1830, 

4,050 

149 

Gl 

1835, 

125 

49 

1840, 

57 

4,000 

1845, 

55 

14 

200 

1846, 

55 

1847, 

54 

10 

1848, 

81 

49 

1849, 

78 

4 

1850, 

7,000 

5,000 

1851, 

106 

1S52, 

1853, 

The  whole  produce  of  the  world  of  this  metal  at  present 
probably  amounts  to  about  12,000  tons.  Of  this  a  very  large 
portion  is  consumed  in  England,  especially  in  the  manu- 
facture of  tin  plates.  From  elaborate  tables  given  by  Mr. 
Came,*  it  appears  that  all  the  foreign  tin  brought  to  that 
country,  amounting,  from  1830  to  1840,  to  from  1000  to  2000 
tons  per  annum,  was  exported,  and  in  addition  to  this  a  large 
portion  of  the  metal  produced  in  Great  Britain.  The  follow- 
ing table  shows  the  amount  produced,  consumed  at  home,  and 
exported  from  that  country  for  the  period  from  1780  to  1837. 


Years. 

1783-1790, 
1791-1800, 
1801-1810, 
1811-1820, 
1821-1830, 


Produced. 

Consumed  at  home.                  Ex] 

Total. 

An.  av. 

24,593 

7,412 

926 

17,281, 

31,777 

7,545 

754 

24,232, 

76,144 

11,179 

1,118 

14,965, 

30,473 

10,000 

1,600 

14,200, 

44,194 

26,158 

2.616 

18,036, 

29,749 

23,542 

3,363 

6,207, 

7-10 

3-4 

4-7 

7-15 

2-5 

1-5 


The  United  States  are  the  largest  consumers  of  tin  plates. 
It  is  said  that  over  900,000  boxes  are  now  manufactured  in 
South  Wales  and  Staffordshire,  of  which  two-thirds  are  ex- 
ported from  Liverpool,  nearly  all  of  which  comes  to  this 
country.  In  1852,  512,400  boxes  were  shipped  to  all  America, 
of  which  all  but  69,502  boxes  was  for  Boston,  New  York,  and 


*  Jour.  Stat.  Soc.  London,  ii.  260. 


IMPORTS    OF    TIN. 


215 


Philadelphia.  The  consumption  is  rapidly  increasing  here, 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  annexed  table  of  shipments  of  tin  plates 
from  Liverpool  to  the  three  above-mentioned  ports. 


Boxes. 

1846 193,409 

1847, 137,546 

1848, 297,255 

1849, 236,297 


Boxes. 

1850, 338,538 

1851, 344,602 

1852, 442,898 


The  following  table,  compiled  from  official  documents,  pre- 
sents as  complete  a  view  as  can  be  given  of  the  amount  of 
this  metal  consumed  within  our  own  borders,  it  being  the 
value  of  that  which  was  imported  and  retained  for  domestic 
consumption,  from  the  year  1840  to  1851. 


Year. 

Pigs,  Bars,  and 
Foil. 

Plates  and  Sheets. 

Manufactured. 

1840,  

$184,04? 

3*863,842 

$28,774 

1841                           .    .     . 

284  967 

1.143,321 

28.912 

1842 

276  054 

912  572 

25255 

1843                           .    . 

107,443 

577,174 

3,314 

1844 

28599 

1845,  

12,564 

1846 

9,136 

1847,  

274.532 

600,951 

8.287 

1848 

450  794 

1,658,712 

25.146 

1849,  

586,659 

2,271.334 

22,305 

1850    .                        .     . 

673  527 

2.443,918 

19.179 

1851 

339  494 

3  536  350 

23810 

Since  the  above  was  in  type,  there  has  come  to  hand  (in 
English  Mining  Journal  of  April  22d,  1854)  an  abstract  of  a 
statistical  paper  by  E.  Hunt,  Esq.,  on  the  produce  of  copper, 
lead,  and  silver,  in  Great  Britain,  in  which  the  production  of 
tin  in  that  kingdom,  during  the  five  years  1848-52,  is  given 
as  50,407  tons:  an  annual  average  of  a  little  over  10,000  tons. 
There  is  no  higher  authority  than  Mr.  Hunt  on  such  a  point ; 
but  as  tin  does  not  properly  form  one  of  the  subjects  of  his 
paper,  it  is  impossible  to  say  precisely  what  value  should  be 
placed  upon  his  estimate,  until  the  paper  itself  can  be  seen. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

COPPER. 
SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE  AND  GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  OF  THE  ORES 

OF  COPPER. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — The  metal  copper,  in  some 
one  of  its  forms  of  combination,  may  be  found  almost  every- 
where in  nature.  It  has  been  detected  in  numerous  soils,  in 
the  ochrey  deposits  of  mineral  springs,  in  sea-water,  and  even 
in  plants  and  animals :  were  our  means  of  determining  its 
presence  as  sensitive  as  they  are  for  silver,  it  would  probably 
be  found,  like  that  metal,  almost  universally  diffused  in  in- 
finitesimal traces ;  this  is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  great 
variety  and  the  solubility  of  its  combinations.  Copper  has 
been  known  from  the  most  remote  periods.  In  the  early 
history  of  nations  its  use  has  always  preceded  that  of  iron ; 
and  bronze  has  been  the  material  for  a  great  variety  of  tools 
before  the  art  of  working  steel  had  been  learned.  As  gold 
is  the  only  yellow  metal,  so  copper  is  the  only  red  one ;  its 
softness  and  toughness  make  it  very  valuable  for  a  great 
variety  of  purposes,  but  its  great  use  is  for  the  sheathing  of 
ships,  either  by  itself  or  alloyed  with  a  small  portion  of  zinc. 
In  the  various  alloys  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  especially  in 
the  form  of  brass  and  bronze,  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
of  metals,  and  the  consumption  of  it  is  rapidly  increasing. 

I.   NATIVE    METAL. 

Metallic  or  native  copper  is  not  at  all  uncommon,  being  a 
frequent  result  of  the  decomposition  of  cupriferous  ores ;  but 
until  within  a  very  few  years,  it  had  nowhere  been  found  in 
sufiicient  quantity  and  with  such  a  mode  of  occurrence  as  to 


ORES    OF    COPPER.  217 

make  it  a  special  object  of  exploitation.  It  frequently  occurs 
crystallized,  and  usually  in  regular  octohedra  or  some  form 
intermediate  between  that  and  the  cube.  The  specific  gravity 
of  the  pure  native  metal  is  8*838.  It  is  often  found  in  a  state 
of  absolute  purity. 

II.    ORES. 

a.   Combinations  with  Sulphur,  Selenium,  Arsenic,  and 
Antimony. 

Copper  G-lance,  Vitreous  Copper,  Sulphuret  of  Copper. 
A  sulphuret  of  copper  with  one  atom  of  sulphur  to  two  of 
copper,  or  20-2  of  the  former  to  79-8  of  the  latter.  This  is 
one  of  the  important  ores  of  this  metal,  although  not  as 
much  so,  by  any  means,  as  copper  pyrites.  The  principal 
locality  of  it  in  this  country  is  at  the  Bristol  mine,  Con- 
necticut. 

Covelline,  Indigo  Copper.  A  sulphuret  of  copper  with 
one  atom  of  each  constituent,  or  33-5  per  cent,  of  sulphur  to 
66-5  per  cent,  of  copper.  This  ore  occurs  in  some  quantity  in 
South  America. 

Phillipsite,  Variegated  Copper,  Peacock  Ore,  Horse-flesh 
Ore.  A  sulphuret  of  iron  and  copper,  containing,  accord- 
ing to  the  formula  adopted  by  Rammelsberg,  sulphur  28-1, 
copper  55-5,  and  iron  16-4 :  it  is  frequently  mixed  with 
copper  glance,  and  usually  contains  from  60  to  70  per  cent, 
of  copper.  This  is  an  ore  which  is  of  considerable  commer- 
cial importance,  being  often  associated  with  copper  pyrites 
and  other  cupriferous  ores.  The  principal  locality  in  this 
country  is  Bristol,  Connecticut.  The  Tuscan  mines  abound 
in  this  ore. 

Barnhardtite.*  This  is  a  new  ore  of  copper,  recently  dis- 
covered by  Dr.  Genth,  which  is  intermediate  in  composition 
between  Phillipsite  and  copper  pyrites.  It  is  of  a  pale 
yellow  color,  much  resembling  iron  pyrites,  but  having  a 
duller  lustre,  and  tarnishing  with  bronze-colored  and  pavo- 
nine tints.  Its  composition  is  expressed  by  the  formula, 
2  Cua  S  +  Fe3  S3 ;  and  it  contains,  according  to  theory, 
sulphur  30*53,  copper  48*14,  and  iron  21*33.  It  was  first 

*  Communicated  by  Dr.  Genth. 


218  ORES    OF    COPPER. 

found  on  land  of  Daniel  Earnhardt,  and  afterwards  at  Pioneer 
Mills,  Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina,  and  since  at  the 
Phoenix  and  Vanderburg  mines. 

Copper  Pyrites,  Yellow  Copper  Ore.  A  combination  of  the 
sulphurets  of  copper  and  iron,  with  the  following  percentage : 
sulphur  35-05,  copper  34-47,  iron  30-48.  This  ore  has  a 
great  resemblance  to  iron  pyrites,  from  which  it  may,  how- 
ever, be  easily  distinguished  by  its  softness,  since  it  may  be 
cut  with  the  knife,  while  iron  pyrites  is  so  hard  as  to  strike 
fire  with  steel.  It  is  the  great  ore  of  copper,  being  that  from 
which  nearly  all  the  Cornish  copper  is  obtained ;  it  furnishes 
probably  two-thirds  of  the  copper  of  the  world,  and  is  the 
source  from  which  many  of  the  other  ores  have  been  chiefly 
derived ;  since  the  true  cupriferous  veins,  which  generally 
bear  other  ores  near  the  surface,  on  being  wrought  in  depth, 
gradually  pass  into  this  variety,  and  bear  it  almost  exclusively. 

Domeykite,  an  arseniuret  of  copper,  is  a  rare  mineral  from 
Chili. 

G-ray  Copper,  Fahlerz.  A  mineral  of  a  complicated  con- 
stitution, essentially  a  sulph-antimoniuret  of  copper,  but 
generally  containing  also  arsenic,  iron,  silver,  and  sometimes 
zinc,  in  small  quantities.  The  amount  of  copper  in  it  varies 
from  35  to  50  per  cent.  It  is  frequently  of  more  value  for 
the  silver  it  contains  than  for  its  copper.  It  is  one  of  the 
important  ores  in  the  Harz  mines,  but  has  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered in  this  country. 

Tennantite,  another  rare  ore,  which  very  much  resembles 
the  last ;  it  is  a  combination  of  sulphur,  arsenic,  and  copper, 
in  different  proportions  from  those  of  the  gray  copper. 

Wolfsbergite,  a  sulphuret  of  copper  and  antimony  ;  rare. 

Wolchite,  a  sulphuret  of  lead,  antimony,  and  copper. 

Bournonite,  another  sulphuret  of  lead,  antimony,  and  cop- 
per, with  only  from  twelve  to  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  latter 
mineral.  This  is  found  in  a  good  many  localities,  but  is  not 
of  importance  as  an  ore,  either  of  lead  or  copper. 

b.  Combinations  with  Oxygen  and  Chlorine. 

Red  Oxide  of  Copper,  Red  Copper  Ore.  This  contains  two 
atoms  of  copper  and  one  of  oxygen,  or  88-88  of  metal,  and 


ORES    OF    COPPER.  219 

11-12  of  oxygen.  This  is  a  valuable  ore  of  copper,  and  is 
one  of  the  frequent  products  of  the  decomposition  of  copper 
pyrites;  the  Australian,  Cuban,  and  South  American  ores 
contain  a  large  amount  of  the  red  oxide.  The  lodes  which 
produce  this  ore  on  the  surface  generally  bear  the  yellow  sul- 
phuret  after  they  have  been  mined  to  any  very  great  depth. 

Black  Oxide  of  Copper,  Tenorite,  Copper  Smut.  The  pure 
black  oxide  of  copper  contains  one  atom  each  of  copper  and 
oxygen,  or  20-14  of  the  latter  to  79-86  of  metal.  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  rare  substance,  and  had  only  been  found  in  minute 
crystals  in  the  lava  of  Vesuvius,  and  called  Tenorite,  pre- 
vious to  the  discovery  of  a  vein  of  this  ore,  mixed  with  sili- 
cate of  copper,  near  Copper  Harbor,  on  Lake  Superior. 
Here  the  ore  was  found  of  an  almost  perfect  purity,  and  in 
considerable  quantity,  but  is  no  longer  mined. 

Copper  smut  is  a  black  substance,  found  in  many  copper 
veins  near  the  surface,  and  consists  of  a  mechanical  mixture 
of  oxide  of  copper  with  the  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese, 
together  with  earthy  impurities.  It  is  one  of  the  products  of 
the  decomposition  of  the  pyritiferous  ores. 

Atacamite,  Chloride  of  Copper.  A  combination  of  the 
oxide  and  chloride  of  copper,  and  water.  It  occurs  in  some 
quantity  in  the  form  of  sand  in  the  Atacama  desert ;  some  of 
it  comes  intermixed  with  the  Chili  ores. 

c.  Silicates  of  Copper. 

Diojrtase,  Emerald  Copper.  A  hydratcd  silicate  of  copper, 
very  rare. 

Chrysocolla,  Copper  Green.  A  hydrated  silicate  of  copper, 
containing  34-82  of  silica,  44-82  of  copper,  and  20-36  of  water, 
when  perfectly  pure ;  it  is,  however,  generally  much  mixed 
with  earthy  matter.  This  is  an  ore  of  very  common  occur- 
rence, but  it  is  not  usually  found  in  large  quantity.  It  is  a 
valuable  ore,  and  easy  of  reduction.  Like  the  carbonate 
and  oxides,  it  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  upper  portion  of  the 
veins  in  which  it  occurs,  or  to  beds  and  deposits  which  have 
not  much  depth. 


220         GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    COPPER    ORES. 

d.   Carbonates  and  Sulphates. 

Azurite,  Blue  Copper,  Blue  Carbonate.  This  beautiful  ore 
differs  from  the  green  carbonate,  in  containing  a  hydrated 
oxide,  as  well  as  a  carbonate.  The  principal  localities  are 
Chessy,  in  France,  and  Siberia,  where  splendid  crystalliza- 
tions have  been  obtained.  Traces  of  it  are  common  in 
many  mines,  but  fine  specimens  are  rare,  and  it  is  by  no 
means  of  so  much  importance  as  an  ore,  as  the  next  species. 

Malachite,  Green  Carbonate  of  Copper.  A  hydrated  car- 
bonate of  copper,  with  71 '82  oxide  of  copper,  20-00  carbonic 
acid,  and  8-18  water.  This  is  not  only  valuable  as  an  ore, 
but  is  highly  esteemed  for  ornamental  purposes.  It  is  most 
abundant  in  Siberia,  and  is  sawn  into  thin  plates,  and  used 
for  veneering  vases,  tables,  doors,  &c.  Some  of  the  African 
ores  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  malachite.  It  is 
much  more  common  than  azurite. 

Blue  Vitriol,  Sulphate  of  Copper.  This  salt  of  copper, 
being  soluble  in  water,  is  found  in  the  waters  issuing  from 
mines  of  this  metal,  having  been  produced  by  oxidation  of  the 
sulphuret.  In  some  localities  it  is  an  object  of  considerable 
commercial  importance,  the  metallic  copper  being  precipi- 
tated from  it  by  immersing  pieces  of  iron  in  the  cupriferous 
solution. 

Brochantite,  Lcttsomite,  and  Connelite  are  rare  minerals,  of 
which  the  principal  ingredients  are  oxide  of  copper  and 
sulphuric  acid. 

The  phosphates  and  arseniates  of  copper  form  a  numerous 
family  of  salts,  but  as  they  are  none  of  them  of  any  impor- 
tance as  ores,  they  will  be  passed  over  here  without  enu- 
meration. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION. — Copper,  occurring  as  it  does  in  so 
many  forms  of  combination,  and  so  extensively  distributed 
geographically,  is,  as  might  be  expected,  a  metal  which  has 
a  wide  range  in  the  list  of  geological  formations.  This  will 
be  sufficiently  seen  on  examining  the  descriptions  of  the  prin- ' 
cipal  cupriferous  districts  of  the  world  which  are  comprised 
in  the  next  sections.  There  are,  however,  two  characteristic 
positions  in  which  these  ores  are  found,  and  to  one  of  which 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    COPPER    ORES.        221 

most  of  the  great  mining  districts  may  be  referred.  These 
are : — 

1st.  Veins  in  the  older  crystalline  rocks,  especially  the 
metamorphic  palaeozoic,  and  the  igneous  formations  associated 
with  them.  Such  is  the  character  of  the  great  mining  dis- 
tricts of  Cornwall  and  Australia,  and  also  of  the  Lake  Supe- 
rior copper  region,  as  well  as  of  most  of  the  localities  in  the 
Atlantic  States.  The  veins  belong  either  to  the  class  of  segre- 
gated, or  to  that  of  fissure-veins.  Some  of  the  segregated 
masses  are  of  immense  extent  and  have  produced  large 
amounts  of  ore  ;  hut  the  districts  in  which  the  workings  are 
upon  true  veins  are  those  in  which  the  yield  is  of  a  more  per- 
manent character,  and  where  the  mining  interest  has  attained 
the  greatest  development. 

2d.  The  cupriferous  ores  are  largely  distributed  through 
certain  strata,  which  in  the  geological  series  belong  between 
the  carboniferous  and  the  period  of  the  Lias.  In  such  cases 
the  ore  is  not  in  veins,  but  is  disseminated  through  the  beds 
of  rock,  which  are  usually  sandstone  and  slates ;  the  metalli- 
ferous substance  being  usually  in  fine  particles,  although 
occasionally  concentrated  into  bunches.  The  most  charac- 
teristic localities  of  this  form  of  deposit  are  those  of  the 
Kupferschiefer  of  Mansfeld  and  the  Permian  strata  of  the 
Ural,  which  are  quite  analogous  to  each  other  both  in  the 
mode  of  occurrence  of  the  ores,  and  in  the  geological  age  of 
the  rocks  in  which  they  occur,  which  is  that  of  the  "  Magne- 
sian  Limestone,"  or  "Zechstein"  of  the  German  geologists; 
they  lie  next  beneath  the  Triassic  group. 

In  this  country  the  strongly  marked  group  of  rocks  usually 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "  New  Red  Sandstone,"  which  has 
been  usually  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Triassic  group,  but 
is  now  referred  by  some  geologists  to  the  period  of  the  lower 
Oolite,  is  found  to  contain  cupriferous  ores,  which  occur 
under  circumstances  somewhat  analogous  to  those  just 
noticed. 

Above  the  ~New  Red  Sandstone,  there  are  few  deposits  of 
copper  of  any  importance  ;  the  principal  concentration  of  that 
metal  out  of  the  true  metalliferous  formation,  the  lower  pal- 


222  COPPER    MINES    OF    RUSSIA. 

seozoic,  apparently  having  taken  place  near  the  limit  between 
the  older  secondary  and  newer  palaeozoic  periods. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  cupriferous  ores,  and,  in  the  following  sections, 
the  detailed  description  of  the  principal  mining  districts  in 
which  they  are  wrought  will  make  their  mode  of  occurrence, 
in  its  relation  to  the  geological  series,  sufficiently  clear. 


SECTION  II. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    DISTRIBUTION    OF    COPPER   IN    FOREIGN    COUNTRIES. 

THE  ores  of  copper  cannot  be  said  to  be  limited  to  a  few 
countries ;  they  are  scattered  all  over  the  world,  and  no  one 
country  can  be  considered  to  be  far  in  advance  of  all  others 
in  their  development.  I^or  is  this  a  metal  in  whose  yield 
there  have  been,  or  are  likely  to  be,  great  fluctuations ;  new 
cupriferous  regions  are  discovered  from  time  to  time,  but  the 
increased  supply  thus  afforded  does  not  more  than  keep  pace 
with  the  growing  demand  of  the  arts.  After  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  principal  copper-bearing  districts,  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  form  a  general  idea  of  the  resources  of  the  civilized 
world  in  regard  to  this  metal. 

RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. — The  principal  mines  of  this  metal  within 
the  Russian  territory,  are  in  the  Ural  Mountains,  the  Altai, 
the  Caucasus,  and  in  Finland.  Those  of  Finland  are  of  minor 
importance.  In  the  Caucasus,  copper  ores  are  said  to  be 
very  abundant,  and  there  is  proof  that  they  have  been  exten- 
sively worked  at  some  very  remote  period.  Their  present 
produce  is  not  considerable.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
Altai,  which  yields  about  400  or  500  tons  yearly.  The  most 
extensive  mines  are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ural  Mountains, 
on  whose  western  flanks,  in  the  governments  of  Perm  and 
Orenburg,  the  beds  of  the  Permian  system  of  Murchison, 
corresponding  to  the  Zechstein  of  Germany,  are  cupriferous, 
and  possess  a  remarkable  analogy  with  the  copper  schists  of 
Mansfeld.*  The  strata  in  which  the  copper  is  found,  consist 

*  Murchison's  Russia,  i.  144. 


RUSSIA.  223 

of  thick,  flag-like  grits,  of  gray  and  dingy  color,  through, 
which,  at  intervals,  the  ores  of  copper,  chiefly  the  green  car- 
bonate, are  disseminated. 

The  cupriferous  beds  contain  only  about  2-J  per  cent,  of 
ore,  but  owing  to  its  wide  dissemination  throughout  vast 
masses  of  rock,  its  extraction  is  profitable,  though  by  no 
means  as  much  so  as  in  the  copper  works  of  the  Ural.  The 
strata  in  which  copper  is  found  do  not  extend  west  beyond 
400  or  500  versts  from  the  Ural  chain,  and  as  the  mineral 
matter  in  them  decreases  in  quantity  in  receding  from  the 
mountains,  it  is  evident  that  it  must  have  originated  there. 
The  metal  smelted  from  these  ores  is  very  pure  and  ductile, 
and  much  sought  for  making  bronze.  The  imperial  Zavods 
near  Perm  are  said  by  Murchison  to  produce  16,000  poods 
per  annum  (257  tons),  and  to  yield  a  profit  to  the  government 
of  about  $40,000. 

The  copper  deposits  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ural  are  of 
great  interest.  They  produce  much  the  largest  portion  of 
the  whole  amount  of  this  metal  which  is  furnished  by  Russia. 
The  principal  mines  are  the  Gumeschewskoi,  the  Bogoslow- 
skoi,  and  those  of  ^ujny  Tagilsk.  The  Gumeschewskoi  mine, 
which  has  been  worked  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  is 
opened  on  bunches  and  nests  of  copper  ore,  mostly  malachite 
and  red  oxide,  contained  in  an  argillaceous  shale.  There  are 
no  regular  veins.  A  single  mass  of  malachite,  a  cube  of  3J 
feet  in  diameter,  was  taken  from  this  mine,  and  is  now  in  the 
collection  of  the  Russian  School  of  Mines  at  St.  Petersburg. 
The  mines  near  Bogoslowsk,  or  the  Turjinsk  mines,  as  they 
are  sometimes  called,  from  the  river  Turja  on  which  the 
smelting-works  are  situated,  have  little  resemblance  to  veins ; 
the  rock  in  which  they  are  found  is  a  Silurian  limestone,  the 
strata  of  which  alternate  with  beds  or  dykes  of  trap,  and 
along  whose  lines  of  contact  occur  deposits  of  clay,  in  which 
the  copper  ores  are  found  in  bunches  and  nests.  The  crys- 
tals of  native  copper  which  are  obtained  here  are  unsurpassed 
in  beauty  and  regularity.  At  Nijny  Tagilsk,  the  general 
features  are  the  same,  namely,  deposits  of  ore  in  connection 
with  igneous  rocks,  associated  with  the  upper  Silurian  lime- 
stones. "  The  cupriferous  deposit,"  to  use  the  language  of 


224      COPPER    MINES    OF    NORWAY    AND    SWEDEN. 

Murchison,  "  seemed  to  resemble  a  slightly  consolidated  heap 
of  detritus  which  had  been  tumultuously  aggregated  in  this 
hollow  at  a  period  of  convulsion,  when  the  subjacent  rocks 
were  invaded  by  some  sort  of  igneous  action,  and  all  the 
strata  were  broken  up  and  re-arranged."  The  ore  lies  in  the 
hollows  of  the  eruptive  rocks,  and  is  mixed  with  lumps  of 
limestone  and  other  rocks.  There,  at  the  depth  of  280  feet, 
an  enormous  mass  of  malachite,  estimated  to  weigh  1,320,000 
pounds,  or  more  than  580  tons,  was  found.  This  mass 
appears  to  have  been  deposited  from  a  cupriferous  solution, 
in  a  manner  analogous  to  that  of  a  stalagmite. 

During  the  ten  years  previous  to  1848,  the  mines  of  the 
Ural  produced  yearly  an  average  of  3720  tons  of  copper  ;* 
but  since  that  time  the  amount  has  increased  considerably, 
and  was,  in  1850,  over  5400  tons. 

The  amount  of  copper  furnished  yearly  by  Russia,  accord- 
ing to  an  average  of  the  last  ten  years,  was  4540  tons ;  but 
it  seems  to  be  rapidly  increasing,  as  the  yield  of  1849  was 
6546,  and  that  of  1850,  6449  tons.  Owing  to  various 
reasons,  and,  probably,  chiefly  to  the  cost  of  transportation, 
the  quantity  of  this  metal  which  is  exported  is  very  small, 
and  rapidly  decreasing. 

NORWAY  AND  SWEDEN. — The  quantity  of  copper  furnished 
by  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  is  small,  and  increasing  but 
slowly.  The  quality  of  the  Norwegian  metal  is  very  good, 
the  ores  from  which  it  is  manufactured  being  quite  free  from 
arsenic,  antimony,  and  lead ;  but  that  of  the  Falun  mine  is 
less  valuable,  on  account  of  the  occurrence  of  the  sulphurets 
of  lead  and  zinc  in  connection  with  the  copper  pyrites.f 

The  mines  of  Alten  are  in  the  most  northern  position  of 
any  in  the  world,  being  in  the  latitude  70°.  They  have 
been  worked  by  an  English  company  since  1826,  and  are 
now  paying  a  respectable  profit.  The  formation  belongs  to 
the  metamorphic  palaeozoic  or  azoic,  perhaps  to  the  latter, 
with  which  are  associated  diorite  and  hornblende  rock.  The 
cupriferous  veins  of  Kaafjord  are  only  productive  in  the 
igneous  rock,  and  they  do  not,  generally,  even  extend  into  the 

*  Tschewkin,  in  Jour,  des  Mines,  extracted  in  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  iii.  801. 
f  Durocher,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xv.  272. 


SWEDEN.  225 

slates.  Several  mines  are  wrought  here  with  greater  or  less 
success.  A  few  miles  east-southeast  of  Kaafjord  is  another 
group  of  veins  on  the  Raipasvara  Mountain.  Here  the 
lodes  are  contained  in  a  compact  subcrystalline  limestone. 
The  principal  one  is  about  six  feet  wide,  and  dips  vertically. 
On  the  back  of  the  lode,  gossan,  with  carbonates  and  arseni- 
ate  of  copper,  is  found,  but  at  some  depth  the  ore  is  prin- 
cipally the  variegated.*  The  veins  impoverish  rapidly  on 
passing  from  the  limestone  into  the  slates. 

The  mines  of  Roraas  are  also  of  importance :  here,  how- 
ever, there  are  no  veins,  but  the  ore  is  disseminated  in 
chlorite  slate,  forming  what  are  called  "fahlbands,"  or 
metalliferous  beds.  There  are  three  principal  mines ;  in  that 
-of  Storwartz  the  ore  yields  from  five  to  six  per  cent,  of 
copper  after  being  picked  over  by  hand. 

There  are  numerous  other  localities  in  Southern  Norway 
where  copper  ores  are  found,  but  they  are  worked  only  to  a 
trifling  extent. 

The  copper  deposits  of  Sweden  are  quite  analogous  to 
those  of  Norway,  except  that  they  are  principally  in  quartz- 
ose,  micaceous,  and  calcareous  beds,  subordinate  to  gneiss, 
that  formation  being  much  more  developed  than  the  slates. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  those  of  Areskuttan, 
which  are  in  fahlbands,  formed  by  the  dissemination  of 
copper  pyrites  in  the  crystalline  schists.  At  Gustavsberg 
the  cupriferous  fahlband  is  from  thirteen  to  sixteen  feet 
thick,  and  sometimes  much  more.  The  ore  yields  only  from 
three  to  four  per  cent,  of  copper.  There  are  eight  groups  of 
mines  or  mining  districts  in  Sweden,  principally  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Dalecarlia.  The  mines  of  Garpenberg,  in  that 
province,  have  been  worked  since  the  twelfth  century,  and 
are  now  1000  feet  deep,  but  diminishing  in  productiveness. 

Falun  has  been  long  celebrated  for  its  copper  mines,  but  its 
importance  is  very  much  diminished,  and  it  is  now  nearly 
exhausted.  The  ore  is  poor,  not  giving  above  3J  to  4  per 
cent,  after  hand-sorting.  The  character  of  the  deposit  is 
peculiar,  and  hardly  admits  of  classification.  The  rock  is  a 

*  Russegger  in  Karsten  &  Dechen's  Arch.  xv. 
15 


226  COPPER    MIJNES    OF    CORNWALL. 

gray,  quartzose  mass,  with  little  plates  of  mica  scattered 
through  it ;  but  whether  it  is  an  igneous  or  stratified  mass 
remains  undecided.  It  is  divided  up  into  irregular  ovoidal 
masses,  hy  what  are  called  "skolar,"  or  curved  and  undula- 
ting belts  of  chlorite,  along  which  the  ore  is  principally 
concentrated.  The  "great  mine,"  so  called  (Storgrufva), 
has  been  worked  for  centuries  on  the  largest  of  these 
masses,  which  is  found  to  be  an  immense  cone,  with  a 
rounded  apex,  turned  upside  down.  At  the  surface  the 
dimensions  of  the  mass,  the  base  of  the  cone  so  to  speak, 
are  800  feet  in  an  east-northeast  and  west-southwest  direction, 
and  500  feet  in  breadth.  The  interior  of  this  great  cone  is 
principally  iron  pyrites,  the  copper  ore  lying  on  its  exterior, 
forming  a  sort  of  envelope  around  it.  The  depth  of  the 
workings  is  about  1100  feet. 

o  o 

The  mines  of  Atvedaberg  in  East  Gothland  are  next  in 
importance  to  those  of  Falun.  They  produce,  however,  less 
than  200  tons  per  annum.  The  whole  amount  of  this  metal 
raised  in  Sweden  was,  in  1850,  only  a  little  over  1400  tons ; 
that  of  Norway  averaged,  during  the  five  years  preceding 
1850,  567  tons. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. — We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  copper 
region  of  Cornwall  and  Devonshire,  where  the  cupriferous 
veins  have  been  worked  longer,  and  have  produced  more, 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  and  where  the  art  of  metal- 
lurgy has  been  carried  to  a  high  pitch  of  perfection,  so  that 
comparatively  poor  ores  have  been  smelted  with  large  profits. 

In  describing  the  stanniferous  deposits  of  Cornwall,  a  gen- 
eral account  has  been  given  of  the  metalliferous  veins  of  that 
region,  their  direction,  the  different  systems  of  fracture,  and 
the  phenomena  of  a  more  general  character  exhibited  by 
them ;  it  now  remains  to  consider  the  facts  more  closely  con- 
nected with  the  occurrence  of  the  copper,  such  as  the  nature 
of  the  ores,  the  varieties  of  the  gangues,  and  the  changes  in 
the  character  of  the  lodes  at  various  depths. 

Among  the  first  things  to  be  noticed,  is  the  decomposed 
state  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  veins,  giving  rise  to  what 
the  miners  call  "gossan,"  which  usually  forms  the  backs  of 
the  productive  copper  lodes.  This  substance  is,  all  over  the 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    VEINS.  227 

world,  looked  upon  as  a  favorable  indication  of  valuable 
ores  at  some  depth  below.*  It  is  a  mixture  of  quartzose  matter 
with  more  or  less  oxide  of  iron,  and  usually  contains  traces 
of  other  metals  in  the  form  of  oxides,  carbonates,  and  sulphu- 
rets,  as  would  naturally  be  expected,  since  it  is  in  all  cases 
the  result  of  the  decomposition  of  copper  and  iron  pyrites 
and  other  sulphuretted  ores  which  formed  the  original  vein. 
The  sulphuret  of  copper  is  oxidized  into  a  sulphate,  which  is 
soluble  in  water,  and  is  carried  away  in  the  streams  and  by 
the  rains,  while  the  iron  remains  as  an  insoluble  hydrated 
oxide.  If  there  was  gold  or  oxide  of  tin  in  the  veinstone,  it 
remains  in  its  original  form,  and  is  generally  concentrated 
together.  Silver  is  also  present  in  some  gossans  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  be  of  value.  A  great  many  of  the  English  gos- 
sans contain  gold  from  1  to  2  ounces  per  ton,  and  in  some 
cases  much  more.  Whether  auriferous  gossan  is  sufficiently 
abundant  to  allow  of  its  being  worked  for  gold  with  profit  is 
a  question  which  will  soon  be  settled,  as  the  attention  of  the 
English  mining  adventurers  seems  to  be  most  extensively 
turned  to  that  subject.  The  depth  to  which  this  decomposition 
has  extended  is  usually  from  twenty  to  thirty  fathoms.  By 
long  experience,  the  miners  are  enabled  to  form  an  opinion, 
with  some  confidence,  of  the  value  of  the  lode,  from  the  cha- 
racter of  its  outcrop,  certain  kinds  of  gossan  being  considered 
more  "kindly,"  or  favorable  to  the  existence  of  ore,  than 
others.  In  some  cases  the  backs  of  the  copper  lodes  have 
been  extensively  worked  in  ancient  times  for  the  tin  ore 
wThich  was  disseminated  through  the  gossan. 

The  metalliferous  part  of  the  lodes  below  the  line  of  de- 
composition, consists,  in  the  copper-bearing  veins,  chiefly  of 
copper  pyrites,  with  some  vitreous  and  variegated  ore  and 
other  sulphurets.  Black-jack,  or  sulphuret  of  zinc,  is  fre- 
quently associated  with  the  copper,  and  occurs  in  the  greatest 
abundance  throughout  Cornwall.  The  ores  are  not  uni- 

*  The  German  miners  have  a  proverb: 

Es  ist  nie  ein  Gang  so  gut, 

Der  triigt  nicht  einen  eisernen  Hut. 

The  "  iron  hat"  or  chapeau  defer  of  the  French  miner,  is  equivalent  to  the  gossan 
of  the  Cornish,  being  the  ferruginous  covering  of  the  lode. 


228  CHARACTER    OF    THE    CORNISH    VEINS. 

formly  scattered  through  the  lodes,  but  lie  in  "  bunches,"  or 
gathered  together  into  masses,  which  are  frequently  of  very 
great  size,  and  connected  together  by  mere  threads  and 
strings  of  metalliferous  substance,  in  quantities  too  small  to 
be  profitably  worked,  yet  sufficiently  evident  to  be  easily 
followed  by  the  miners.  Many  facts  have  been  developed, 
in  the  extended  workings  on  the  Cornish  lodes,  in  regard  to 
the  position  of  these  bunches  of  ore  with  reference  to  the 
nature  of  the  "  country,"  or  rock  enclosing  the  vein,  and  the 
displacements  to  which  the  lodes  have  been  subjected.  If 
the  lode  ramifies,  and  divides  into  branches,  as  it  descends, 
the  quantity  of  ore  becomes  less ;  on  the  other  hand,  where 
the  branches  reunite,  it  is  frequently  accumulated  in  a  large 
bunch.  So,  too,  where  different  veins  unite,  there  is  gene- 
rally an  increase  in  the  quantity  of  ore,  and  the  best  part  of 
the  veins  is  in  the  vicinity  of  their  junction.  Thus  the  great 
cross,  or  counter-lode,  of  the  Gwennap  district,  cuts  through 
a  great  number  of  east  and  west  veins,  enriching  them  all  at 
its  intersection  with  them,  and  giving  rise  to  a  number  of 
productive  mines  along  its  course.  In  general,  however,  it 
is  considered  that  the  smaller  the  angle  at  which  two  lodes 
cross  each  other,  the  greater  the  likelihood  of  there  being  a 
rich  bunch  of  ore  at  the  point  of  meeting.  The  intersection 
of  the  elvan  dykes  with  the  lodes  has  almost  always  an  im- 
portant influence  on  the  quantity  of  ore.  Some  lodes  have 
only  been  productive  in  their  passage  through  an  elvan; 
and  it  has  been  remarked  by  a  good  observer,  that  most  of 
the  ore  in  some  of  the  most  productive  districts  in  Cornwall 
has  been  found  in  or  near  elvan  courses.  The  miners  have 
not  failed  to  recognize  the  fact,  that  the  nature  of  the 
"  country"  has  an  important  influence  on  the  character  of 
the  lode.  It  is  well  established,  that  the  most  productive 
portions  of  the  lodes  are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  junction  of 
the  granite  and  the  killas  :  sometimes  the  lode  is  richest  in 
the  one  rock,  and  sometimes  in  the  other ;  thus,  in  the  case 
of  two  parallel  tin  lodes,  "Wlieal  Vor  and  Great  Work,  near 
Breague,  which  are  only  a  mile  apart,  one  of  them,  Wheal 
Vor,  was  rich  in  the  slates,  but  when  it  entered  the  granite 
it  was  no  longer  worth  working,  while  exactly  the  opposite 


THEIR    VARIATION    IN    DEPTH.  229 

was  true  of  the  other.  It  was  formerly  considered  that  the 
killas  was  the  natural  mining  ground  for  copper,  but  very 
rich  mines  have  been  worked  in  the  granite,  although  not  at 
a  very  great  distance  from  the  junction  of  the  slates.  In 
Wlieal  Tresavean  and  "Wheal  Jewel,  the  ore  lies  in  the 
granite  in  rich  bunches,  close  under  the  intersection  of  that 
rock  with  the  killas. 

The  nature  of  the  rock  is  examined  with  great  care  by  the 
miner,  some  kinds  being  considered  much  more  favorable  to 
the  development  of  ore  than  others.  In  the  Gwennap  dis- 
trict, for  instance,  it  is  said  that  the  reddish  killas  is  unpro- 
ductive, and  that  those  rocks  only  are  rich  which  are  of  a 
bluish-gray "  color.  These  differences,  although  considered 
by  the  miners  as  of  importance,  can  hardly  be  conveyed  by 
words ;  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  their  opinions  are 
not  often  based  as  much  on  imagination  as  on  facts.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  the  metalliferous  contents  of  the  lodes 
vary  with  the  character  of  the  enclosing  rocks,  although 
there  are  no  positive  rules  by  which  it  can  be  decided  before- 
hand what  particular  kind  of  stratum  will  be  the  most 
productive. 

One  of  the  most  important  subjects  is  that  of  the  varia- 
tions in  the  character  of  the  lodes  in  depth.  It  is  very  fre- 
quently said  that  true  veins  enrich  in  descending,  but  this 
opinion  is  not  supported  by  facts;  the  records  of  mining, 
with  few  exceptions,  show  that  although  this  statement  may 
be  true  when  applied  only  to  a  very  inconsiderable  depth, 
yet,  in  general,  a  point  is  soon  reached,  beyond  which  there 
is,  on  the  whole,  no  farther  increase  in  the  valuable  metallic 
contents  of  the  lode.  Indeed,  it  is  maintained  by  some  that 
there  is  an  actual  diminution  in  the  value  of  the  Cornish 
ores,  as  the  mines  have  increased  in  depth ;  and  Burr  has 
made  the  following  statements,  which  he  asserts  to  be 
borne  out  by  the  results  of  working  in  Cornwall :  1st.  Where 
the  vein  is  poor  at  the  surface,  it  increases  in  richness  to 
a  certain,  not  very  great,  depth,  where  it  reaches  its  maxi- 
mum ;  from  that  point  downwards  it  becomes  poorer,  as  far 
down  at  least  as  any  mines  have  yet  been  worked.  2d.  In 
those  cases  where  the  lode  is  rich  at  the  surface,  it  continues 


230      YIELD  OF  CORNISH  COPPER  MIXES. 

good  for  a  certain  depth,  which  is  much  less  than  in  the  first 
case,  and  then  decreases  in  value.  Others  deny  that  the 
veins  have  decreased  in  richness,  and  point  to  some  of  the 
deepest  mines  in  Cornwall  which  are  still  yielding  largely, 
as  proof  of  an  undiminished  yield  at  the  greatest  depth  yet 
attained,  ^.n  examination  of  the  statistical  tables  will  show 
that  there  has  been  a  gradual  and  constant  falling  off  in  the 
percentage  of  the  ores  sold  for  the  last  hundred  years  ;  this 
may  be  due,  however,  to  improvements  in  the  metallurgic 
processes,  which  permit  the  working  of  a  poorer  ore  with 
profit  than  could  formerly  be  smelted ;  and  so  allow  the  old 
ores,  formerly  rejected  as  halvans,  to  be  dressed  and  smelted 
with  profit. 

The  amount  of  dip  is  an  element  of  importance  in  calcu- 
lating the  value  of  a  lode  ;  it  very  rarely  happens  that  a  vein 
with  an  inclination  varying  very  considerably  from  the  per- 
pendicular is  of  much  value.  In  a  lode  which  varies  in  its 
dip,  those  portions  which  approach  nearest  to  a  perpendi- 
cular are  richest. 

The  mines  of  Cornwall  are  worked  with  great  skill.  The 
steam-engine  was  created  almost  by  the  necessity  of  powerful 
means  of  raising  the  water  from  the  Cornish  mines  ;  and  there 
are  no  more  perfect  or  beautifully  constructed  machines  than 
here.  The  deepest  mines  are  down  about  350  fathoms. 

The  great  Cornish  adit  commences  near  the  village  of 
Ferney  Splat,  in  the  Carnon  Valley,  and  extends  to  the  Car- 
drew  Downs  mine,  which  is  nearly  five  and  a  half  miles 
from  its  mouth.  Its  total  length,  with  all  its  ramifications, 
is  about  thirty-five  miles.  At  the  deepest  point  it  ia  seventy 
fathoms  from  the  surface. 

There  have  been  great  fluctuations  in  the  yield  of  the 
different  mines,  but  the  fact  that  the  lodes  do  not  increase 
in  richness  in  descending  suificiently  to  counterbalance  the 
increased  expense  of  working,  seems  to  be  abundantly 
proved  by  the  successive  decline,  one  after  the  other,  of  most 
of  the  great  mines,  each  of  which  had  its  -period  of  great 
prosperity  when  at  a  moderate  depth.  Thus,  in  1815,  Dol- 
coath  was  the  mine  from  which  the  copper  ores  produced 
the  greatest  amount  of  money  (£66,839).  In  1817,  the 


REMARKABLE    CORNISH    MINES.  231 

United  Mines  took  the  first  place,  their  ores  yielding 
£63,116 ;  in  1822,  the  Consolidated  Mines  were  at  the  head 
of  the  Cornish  mines,  producing  in  that  year  £80,311 ; 
while,  since  1845,  the  Devon  Great  Consols  have  maintained 
the  front  rank.  The  following  notices  of  these  mines  are 
appended,  as  worthy  of  especial  attention. 

Dolcoath  Mine.  This  is  celebrated  as  the  oldest  mine  in  Cornwall,  having 
been  worked  with  little  interruption  for  a  century  past.  It  is  300  fathoms 
deep,  and  has  paid  dividends  to  the  amount  of  £300,000.  It  is  now  hardly 
paying  expenses.  From  1814  to  June  1848,  the  returns  of  ore  from  this 
mine  were  238,059  tons,  yielding  £1,361,681.  From  June  1849,  to  June 
1850,  it  furnished  1218  tons,  worth  £6083. 

Great  Consolidated  Mines.  These  are  among  the  most  celebrated  mines  in 
the  world  for  their  extent  and  former  productiveness.  In  1848,  the  workings 
on  the  Carharrack,  West  Wheal  Virgin,  Wheal  Virgin,  and  Wheal  Fortune 
mines,  which  belonged  to  this  Consolidated  Company,  were  sixty-three  miles 
in  length,  and  had  made  a  profit,  under  different  proprietors,  of  £700,000. 
From  1819  to  1840,  these  mines  were  under  the  management  of  the  distin- 
guished mining  engineer,  John  Taylor,  and  during  that  time  a  profit  was 
made  of  £500,000,  besides  expending  £100,000  in  opening  the  United  Mines.* 
In  the  last  twelve  months  of  Mr.  Taylor's  management,  the  mines  yielded 
17,823  tons  of  ore,  which  produced  £100,279.  In  1840,  a  new  lease  was 
obtained  by  another  Company,  by  whom  £100,000  was  paid  for  the  mine  and 
plant,  there  being  100  shares,  with  £1000  paid  in  on  each  share.  Up  to 
June  1848,  the  ores  sold  by  this  Company  amounted  to  83,660  tons,  in  value 
£490,543,  of  which  only  £32,000  was  divided  among  the  stockholders,  owing 
to  the  heavy  expense  of  working  the  mine.  No  dividend  has  been  paid  since 
January  1851,  and  in  March  1854,  the  price  of  shares  is  quoted  at  £100  for 
£1000  paid  in. 

Eight  large  and  thirty  smaller  steam-engines  form  a  part  of  the  plant  of 
this  mine,  which  employed  in  1848  about  1100  persons. 

Devon  Great  Consolidated  Copper  Mining  Company.  As  a  specimen  of  what 
Cornish  mining  is,  when  the  highest  prizes  are  drawn,  a  short  notice  is  given 
of  the  progress  of  the  above-named  Company,  whose  stock  now  stands  higher 
than  that  of  any  mining  Company  in  the  world. 

This  Company  commenced  operations  in  August  1844,  having  paid  £1024 
on  the  same  number  of  shares.  The  ground  was  leased  of  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  for  twenty-one  years,  at  -fe  dues,  to  be  raised  to  T^  as  soon  as  £20,000 
profit  had  been  made.  The  mine  is  about  five  miles  from  Tavistock.  The 
lode,  at  fourteen  fathoms  from  the  surface,  was  eighteen  feet  wide,  "  carrying 
an  immense  gossan."  At  the  depth  of  17£  fathoms,  the  great  deposit  of  ore 
was  struck,  and  since  that  time  the  yield  has  been  truly  wonderful. 


*  J.  Y.  Watson  in  Eng.  Mining  Jour.,  No.  811. 


232  FIRST  WORKING  OF  CORNISH  COPPER  MINES. 

The  first  three  months'  operations  showed  a  profit  of  from  £15,000  to  £16,000  : 
the  next  year,  1846,  the  clear  profit  realized  was  £73,622,  the  mining  expenses 
having  been  £30,590,  against  £116,068  received  for  ore  sold.  At  this  time 
the  shares,  on  which  £1  had  been  paid,  went  up  to  £800.  The  average  cost  of 
sinking  the  shafts,  during  that  year,  was  £8  14s.  $d.  per  fathom ;  that  of 
driving  levels,  £3  Ss.  4d.  per  fathom. 

Up  to  1852,  the  produce  of  the  mine  had  been  as  follows  : — 

Year.               Tons  Ore.  Value.             Av.  price  per  ton. 

1845,  13.293  £116.068  £8  Us.  Id. 

1846,  14,398  93,610                       6  10    0 

1847,  14,413  101,916                      715 

1848,  16,584  100.058                      608 

1849,  15,432  104:622                      6  15    7 

1850,  17.290  117.361                      6  14  11 

1851,  18,946  110,379                      5  16    6 

1852,  20,886  138,728                      6  12  10 

In  1850  there  were  ten  shafts  sunk  on  the  lode,  the  deepest  being  100 
fathoms.  There  were  at  that  time  653  fathoms  of  shafting,  averaging  £12 
per  fathom  in  cost;  440  fathoms  of  winzes,  costing  from  £5  to  £6  per 
fathom:  5039  fathoms  of  drivages,  averaging  about  £4  per  fathom.  There 
were  five  water-wheels,  two  of  which  were  used  for  drawing,  two  for  crush- 
ing, and  one  in  pumping.  For  this  latter,  the  power  is  carried  390  fathoms  in 
horizontal  and  64  fathoms  in  vertical  distance  to  the  shaft,  by  means  of  flat 
rods  carried  over  rollers  erected  on  130  substantial  supports,  the  whole 
arrangement  being  considered  a  master-piece  of  mining  work.  At  the  same 
time  about  1000  persons  were  employed  in  and  about  the  mine. 

Up  to  January  1853,  £358  had  been  paid  in  dividends  on  each  share,  and 
the  shares  of  £1  stood  at  that  time  at  £430. 

Out  of  the  £329,014  185.  Gd.  paid  in  dividends  by  sixty  English  mines  during 
the  year  1853,  two  mines  alone,  Devon  Consols  and  Wheal  Buller,  paid 
£110,464,  of  which  Devon  Consols  paid  £65,024,  leaving  large  reserves  of 
ore  in  the  mines  to  meet  future  contingencies.  In  January  1854,  shares  in  the 
Wheal  Buller  stood  at  £1,025  for  £5  paid  in. 

As  to  the  date  at  which  copper  was  first  raised  in  Cornwall 
there  is  much  uncertainty.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago 
(1602)  Carew  writes  that  "  copper  is  found  in  sundrie  places, 
but  with  what  gaine  to  the  searchers  I  have  not  been  anxious 
to  enquire  or  they  hastie  to  reveal. ? '  Borlase  gives  an  account 
of  the  Cornish  mining  region,  as  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago. 
At  that  time  there  were  steam,  or  rather,  fire  engines  for 
raising  the  water,  one  of  which  had  a  cylinder  of  70  inches 
in  diameter.  At  the  time  Borlase  wrote,  copper  mines  were 
in  active  operation  and  had  been  profitable  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  computed  that  the 


STATISTICS    OF    CORNISH    COPPER. 


233 


average  annual  value  of  copper  raised  for  the  fourteen  years 
previous  to  1758  was  about  <£14,000.  The  copper  ores  are 
still  sold,  exactly  as  they  used  to  be  120  years  ago,  by  public 
ticketings,  at  which  agents  of  the  various  smelting  companies 
attend,  and  make  their  bids  for  lots  of  ore  which  have  been 
previously  notified  to  be  sold  at  that  time,  and  wrhich  they 
have  had  assayed.  The  first  sale  of  ores  on  record  was  in 
1729,  when  2216  tons,  being  the  produce  of  twelve  months, 
were  sold.  In  1764  the  quantity  had  increased  to  16,437 
tons ;  in  1800,  to  55,981  tons,  yielding  5187  tons  of  copper 
and  ,£550,925  in  money.  For  some  years  after  this  the 
quantity  varied  from  60,000  to  78,000  tons  of  ore  per  annum. 
In  1830  it  was  141,263  tons ;  in  1840,  147,266  tons ;  in  1848, 
155,616  tons,  and  in  1853, 180,095  tons,  yielding  11,839  tons 
of  fine  copper.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  there  has  been  a 
constant  increase  from  the  earliest  period  up  to  the  present 
time,  both  in  the  quantity  of  ore  raised  and  the  yield  of 
copper.  The  produce  of  the  mines  of  Cornwall  and  Devon 
will  be  found  presented  in  the  following  tables  of  the  ores 
raised  and  sold,  together  with  the  amount  received  in  money, 
and  the  percentage  yield  of  the  ores. 

The  following  is  an  account,  by  Pryce,  of  the  copper  ores 
sold  in  Cornwall  from  1726  to  1775  inclusive.* 


Ten  years' 
tonnage. 

Av.  price 
per  ton. 
£     s.     d. 

Amount. 
£ 

Av.  annual 
tonnage. 

Av.  annual 
amount. 
£ 

1726 

) 

1735 

1 

64,800 

7   15 

10 

473,500 

6,480 

47,350 

1736 

i 

75,520 

7     8 

6 

560,106 

7,552 

56,010 

1745 

I 

1746 

1755 

98,790 

7     8 

0 

731,457 

9,879 

73,145 

1756 

1 

1765 

| 

169,699 

7     6 

6 

1,243,045 

16,970 

124,304 

1766 

1775 

264,273 

6  14 

6 

1,778,337 

26,427 

177,833 

The  subjoined  table   shows  the  amount  of  copper  ores 

*  De  la  Beche,  Geol.  of  Cornwall,  p.  606. 


234 


STATISTICS    OF    CORNISH    COPPER. 


raised  in  Cornwall  from  1771  to  1853,  for  each  year  ending 
June  30.* 


4 

•a 

u 

1 

&t 

E 

c. 

3 

S 

g. 

0 

03 

<u 

o* 

O 

S 

O 

O 

-  :? 

•d 

a? 

0 

0 

=  I'D 

•d 

to 

» 

0 

0 

cs 

u~ 

r/j 

o 

0 

I 

H 

|S 

QQ 

*"'?. 

33 

I 

B 

>" 

C3 

72 

ju  "** 

1771, 

27.896 

3.347 

189,609 

£81  Os. 

) 

1813. 

86,713 

8,166 

685.572 

£113  Os. 

1772, 

27,965 

3.356 

189.505 

81 

| 

1814, 

87,482 

7,936 

766.825 

128 

1773, 

27.663 

3.320 

148,431 

70 

1815, 

79.984 

6.607 

582.108 

121 

1774, 

30.254 

3,630 

162,000 

68 

i 

1816, 

83,058 

7.045 

541.737 

109 

•  8'5 

1775. 

29.966 

3,596 

192.000 

78 

J 

1817, 

75,816 

6.608 

422,426 

96 

1776, 

29.433 

3.532 

191,590 

79 

1818, 

80,525 

6,714 

587.977 

121 

1777. 

•28.216 

3,386 

177,000 

77 

1819, 

93,234 

7,214 

728.032 

136 

1 

1778. 

24.706 

2,965 

140.536 

72 

12 

1820, 

92.672 

7^364 

620,347 

119 

I 

1779, 

31,115 

3,734 

180.906 

73 

1821, 

98,803 

8,163 

628,832 

111 

•  81! 

1780. 

24,433 

2,932 

171,231 

83 

1822. 

106,723 

9.331 

676.285 

104 

1781, 

28,749 

3450 

178.789 

77 

1823,  i  97.470 

8,070 

618,933 

110 

1782, 

28.122 

3,375 

152,434 

70 

1824.  !  102,200 

8,022 

603.878 

110 

1783, 

35.799 

4,296 

219.937 

76 

12 

1825, 

110.000 

8,417 

743.253 

124 

1784, 

36601 

4.392 

209,132 

72 

1826, 

118,768 

9,140 

798,790 

123 

1785, 

36.959 

4,434 

205,451 

71 

1827, 

128.459 

10,450 

755.358 

106 

7.Q 

1786, 

39.895 

4,787 

237,237 

75 

1828, 

130.866 

9,961 

759,175 

112  7 

j>79 

1787, 

38047 

190.738 

. 

1829, 

125,902 

9,763 

725.834 

109  14 

1788. 

31.541 

150.303 

. 

1830, 

135,665 

10,890 

784,000 

106  15  J 

1789. 

33;281 

. 

184,382 

.  . 

1831, 

146,502 

12.218 

817,740 

99  18  i  1 

1790 

• 

1832, 

139,057 

12,099 

835.812 

104  14  j 

1791 

1833, 

138.300 

11,185 

858.708 

110     i  o  -•• 

1792. 

_ 

1834, 

143^296 

11,224 

887,902 

114  4 

1793, 

> 

1835, 

153.607 

12,271 

896,401 

106  11 

1794, 

42816 

320,875 

1836 

140,981 

11.639 

957,752 

115  12 

J 

1795, 

43.589 

336,189 

. 

1837, 

140,753 

10,823 

908,613 

119  5 

1796, 

43,313 

4^950 

356,564 

.  . 

1838, 

145,688 

11,527 

857,779 

109  3 

1797, 

47.909 

5,210  ;  377,838 

1839. 

159  551 

12.451 

932,297 

110  2 

7'8 

1798. 

51,358 

5.600  j  422.633 

1840. 

147,266 

11,038 

792.758 

108  10 

7-5 

1799, 

51,273 

4,9231469,664  121 

1841, 

135,090 

9,987 

819.949 

119  6 

7-4 

1800. 

55.981 

5,187 

550,925  133  3 

1842, 

135.581 

9,896 

822.870 

120  16 

7-3 

1801, 

56.611 

5.267 

476,313  117  5 

\ 

1843, 

144.806 

10.926 

804.445 

110  1 

7-5 

1802, 
1803. 

53,937 
60.566 

5,228 

5,616 

445,094  110  18 
533,910  122 

1 

i  t 

1844,  152,667 
1845,  1  157,000 

11.247 
12.293 

815,246 
835.350 

109  17 
103  10 

7-4 

7-8 

1804, 

64,637 

5.374  570,840  136  5 

S-8-8 

1846, 

158,913 

12,448 

886.785 

106  8 

7-8 

1805, 

78.452 

6.234  862.410  169  16 

1 

1847, 

148,674 

11.966 

830,739 

103  12 

8 

1806, 

79.269 

6,863  730^845  138  5 

i 

1848, 

155,616 

12,870 

825.080 

97  7 

8-3 

1807, 

71,694 

6,716!  609,002 

120 

1 

1849, 

144.933 

12.052 

716.917 

92  11 

8-3 

1808, 

67,867 

6.795  i  495.303 

100  7 

1850, 

150,890 

11,824 

814.037 

103  19 

7-8 

1809, 

76,245 

6,821  770  028  143  12 

| 

1851, 

154.299 

12.199 

808,244 

101 

7-9 

1810, 

66.048  j  5.682  569,981  132  5 

f9'1 

1852, 

152^802 

11.706 

828,057 

106  12 

7-6 

1811, 
1812. 

66.499  5.948  1  563,742  126 
75.51017.248  608.065  1  113 

! 

1853, 

180,095 

11,839 

1,124,561 

136  15 

6-6 

Iii  addition  to  the  copper  raised  in  Cornwall,  there  is  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  this  metal  obtained  from  mines  in  Wales 
and  Ireland,  which  is  sold  at  the  Swansea  ticketings.  The 
quantity  thus  disposed  of  from  these  portions  of  the  British 
Empire  will  he  seen  on  examining  the  table  of  the  sales  of 

*  This  table  is  taken  from  De  la  Beche's  Geology  of  Cornwall,  with  a  few  addi- 
tions, up  to  1838,  and  has  been  completed  up  to  1853  from  various  authentic 
sources,  especially  "  Gryll's  Mining  Sheet,"  an  annual  record  of  the  transactions  of 
the  Cornish  mines. 


COPPER    MINES    IN    PRUSSIA. 


235 


ores  at  Swansea,  accompanying  the  statistics  of  copper  at  the 
close  of  this  chapter. 

The  total  yield  of  copper  of  the  United  Kingdom  can  only 
be  given  with  exactness  down  to  1834,  from  which  time  the 
amount  smelted  from  English  ores  cannot  be  accurately  dis- 
tinguished from  that  of  foreign  origin.* 

The  following  table  is  given  by  Mr.  Porter  as  approximate 
only  from  1835  to  1848. 


Years. 

Tons  of 

Years. 

Tons  of 

copper. 

copper. 

1820,  . 

8,127 

1835,  . 

14,470 

1821,  . 

.   10,288 

1836,  . 

14,770 

1822,  . 

.   11,018 

1837,  . 

10,150 

1823,  . 

9,079 

1838,  . 

12,570 

1824,  . 

9,705 

1839,  . 

14,070 

1825   . 

10  358 

1840,  . 

13,020 

1826,  . 

.   11,093 

1841,  . 

.   12,850 

1827,  . 

.   12,326 

1842, 

1828,  . 

.   12,188 

1843, 

1829,  . 

.   12,057 

1844,  . 

14,840 

1830,  . 

.   13,232 

1845,  . 

14.900 

1831,  . 

.   14,685 

1846,  . 

14,950 

1832,  . 

14,450 

1847,  . 

.   13,780 

1833,  . 

.   13,260 

1848,  . 

14,720 

1834,  . 

.   14,042 

PRUSSIA. — The  most  important  cupriferous  district  in 
Prussia  is  that  of  Mansfcld,  where  mining  has  been  carried 
on  for  centuries,  in  a  formation  known  as  the  Kupferschiefer, 
a  part  of  the  Zechstem.  The  copper-bearing  stratum  is  not 
over  two  or  three  feet  thick,  but  it  stretches  for  miles  in 
length  with  wonderful  regularity.  The  ore  is  gray  copper, 
somewhat  argentiferous,  and  it  is  scattered  in  fine  particles 
through  the  metalliferous  stratum,  a  bituminous  marly  slate. 
The  works  are  carried  on  with  consummate  skill ;  and  as  the 
thickness  and  richness  of  the  rock  remain  very  constant,  the 
produce  of  metal  does  not  vary  much,  and  is  not  likely  to 
do  so  for  many  years  to  come. 

Near  Stadtberg,  in  the  district  of  Siegen,  a  silicious  slate 
is  found  which  has  fine  particles  of  carbonate  of  copper  dis- 
seminated through  it  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  worthy  of 

*  G.  R.  Porter,  Progress  of  the  Nation,  London,  1851. 


236  COPPER    MINES    IN    AUSTRIA. 

being  worked.  The  metal  is  dissolved  out  by  sulphuric  acid, 
and  precipitated  by  metallic  iron. 

Copper  ore  occurs  in  regular  veins  near  Kupferberg,  in 
Lower  Silesia ;  at  Camsdorf,  in  the  district  of  Henneberg- 
Neustadt ;  and  at  Rheinbreitenbach,  in  the  district  of  Siegen. 
The  ores  are  mostly  pyritous ;  the  last-named  locality  is  the 
only  one  of  importance. 

The  entire  yield  of  the  kingdom,  which  has  not  varied  ma- 
terially for  several  years,  amounted  in  1850  to  1450  tons ; 
and  the  smallest  quantity  produced  in  any  of  the  preceding 
ten  years  was  796  tons. 

AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. — On  the  European  continent,  the  mines 
of  Austria  are  those  which  produce  the  largest  amount  of 
copper ;  the  greater  part  of  the  Russian  cupriferous  deposits 
being  in  Asia.  The  production  of  this  metal  has  been  slowly 
increasing  for  several  years ;  a  result  due  rather  to  the  per- 
fecting of  the  metallurgic  processes  than  to  the  opening  of 
new  mines.  The  poorer  ores,  which  were  formerly  rejected,  in 
the  Schmollnitz  district,  are  now  worked  with  profit.  The 
following  table  shows  the  relative  production  of  the  different 
provinces  of  the  Austrian  Empire  on  an  average  of  five  years, 
from  1843  to  1847  :— 

Hungary, 79'2  per  cent. 

Venice, 6'0         " 

Tyrol, 5-6         « 

Gallicia,         -  4-1         " 

Transylvania, 2-4         " 

Styria,  Salzburg,  and  Bohemia, 2-7         " 

100-0 

The  districts  of  Schmollnitz  in  Upper  Hungary,  and  Tsi- 
klova  in  the  Banat,  are  exceedingly  interesting  on  account 
of  the  peculiar  processes  employed  for  the  treatment  of  argen- 
tiferous copper  ores.*  In  the  Banat,  the  ores  are  in  irregular 
deposits,  near  the  junction  of  the  sienite  and  metamorphic 
strata  of  Jurassic  age ;  and  consist  of  pyritous  copper  and 
argentiferous  gray  copper,  with  blende,  iron  pyrites,  and 

*  Rivot  and  Duchanpy,  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  iii.  63. 


AUSTRIA  —  FRANCE.  237 

sometimes  a  little  gold.     They  do  not  yield  over  4  per  cent, 
of  copper  after  being  picked  over  by  hand. 

The  principal  mine  at  Tsiklova  furnishes  argentiferous 
mispickel,  mixed  with  copper  pyrites.  The  black  copper 
obtained  by  smelting  is  treated  by  the  amalgamation  process, 
for  separating  the  silver,  which  is  present  in  small  quantity ; 
the  minimum  amount  which  can  be  advantageously  sepa- 
rated, is  0-00125.  It  is  heated  to  the  highest  possible  point 
which  it  will  bear  without  fusing,  and  then  stamped.  The 
pulverized  substance  is  then  mixed  with  about  10  per  cent, 
of  common  salt,  and  a  little  sulphuret  of  iron,  if  it  is  not 
present  in  the  ore  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  heated  in  the 
reverberatory  furnace.  The  resulting  mass,  which  contains 
the  silver  in  the  form  of  chloride,  is  then  amalgamated  with 
mercury  in  barrels,  the  reduction  of  the  silver  being  effected 
by  metallic  copper,  which  at  the  same  time  converts  the 
small  quantity  of  chloride  of  copper  which  had  been  formed 
in  the  process  of  chloruration,  into  a  bichloride.  The  amal- 
gam is  then  distilled,  so  that  no  mercury  is  lost  in  the  opera- 
tion, and  the  silver  remains  behind.  The  copper  in  the  fine 
mud  of  the  amalgamation  barrels  is  smelted  and  refined. 

Besides  the  ore  proper  of  the  Schmollnitz  district,  a  large 
quantity  of  copper  of  cementation  is  obtained  in  the  old 
workings,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  poor  ore,  formerly 
rejected,  is  now  found  to  be  worth  smelting. 

The  copper  mines  of  Lower  Hungary,  or  in  the  Schemnitz 
region,  are  no  longer  of  much  importance. 

The  annual  production  of  this  metal  in  the  Austrian 
Empire  amounted,  in  1847  and  1848,  to  a  little  over  3300 
tons,  having  increased  nearly  1000  tons  in  the  preceding  ten 
years. 

The  produce  of  the  other  German  States  is  very  small, 
amounting  altogether,  probably,  to  about  200  tons. 

FRANCE. — There  were  formerly  mines  in  this  country  of 
some  interest,  more  from  the  beautiful  crystallizations  of 
their  ores  than  from  the  amount  of  their  product,  at  Chessy 
and  Sain  Bel,  a  few  miles  northwest  of  Lyons.*  These  were 
deposits  at  the  junction  of  the  mica  and  talcose  slates 

*  A.  d.  M.  (3),  iv.  393. 


238  COPPER    MINES    IN    ITALY  —  TURKEY. 

with  strata  of  the  age  of  the  Triassic  and  Jura  limestone. 
The  ores  were  principally  the  blue  carbonate  and  the  red 
oxide,  with  pyritous  copper,  black  oxide,  and  green  car- 
bonate. 

The  pyritous  ores  were  in  the  ancient  slates,  but  were  too 
poor  to  be  worked  with  advantage.  The  carbonates  and 
oxides  were  obtained  from  the  overlying  strata  of  sandstone, 
belonging  to  the  "gres  bigarrey  or  Variegated  Sandstone. 
This,  being  a  mere  deposit,  was  soon  exhausted,  after  having 
furnished  the  European  cabinets  with  fine  specimens  of 
azurite  and  crystallized  red  oxide  of  copper. 

These  mines  have  been  abandoned  for  several  years,  and 
it  does  not  appear  that  there  is  at  present  a  single  copper 
mine  worked  in  France,  at  least  with  profit.  In  1845,  the 
produce  amounted  to  142  tons. 

SPAIN. — The  amount  of  copper  produced  in  Spain,  though 
small,  is  on  the  increase.  The  most  remarkable  mine  is  that 
of  Rio  Tinto,  a  few  leagues  north  of  Seville,  which  has  been 
worked  at  different  times  from  the  period  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  Since  1787,  considerable  copper  has  been  produced 
by  the  cementation  process,  from  the  water  issuing  from  the 
old  workings.  In  1828,  the  amount  of  iron  used  was 
150,000  pounds,  and  112,500  pounds  of  copper  were  pro- 
duced. In  1833,  the  yield  was  about  140  tons. 

A  number  of  English  Companies  have  taken  hold  of  the 
Linares  Mines,  which  yield  lead  and  copper,  and  the  amount 
of  the  latter  metal  produced  will  probably  continue  to 
increase. 

The  most  reliable  estimates  give  the  quantity  of  copper 
raised  in  the  whole  kingdom  at  450  tons  for  the  year  1849, 
and  it  probably  somewhat  exceeds  that  at  present. 

ITALY. — The  only  copper  mines  of  any  note  in  Italy  are  in 
Tuscany,  and  their  produce  is  very  limited.  The  interesting 
cupriferous  ores  of  Monte  Catini  occur  in  contact  deposits, 
and,  contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  have  been  found  to  grow 
richer  the  deeper  they  have  been  worked. 

TURKEY. — This  country  exports  considerable  copper  of  a 
good  quality,  but  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  no  particulars 
of  its  mode  of  occurrence  or  geographical  situation. 


EAST    INDIA  —  AUSTRALIA.  239 

ALGIERS. — A  mine  of  copper  has  been  wrought  for  some 
time  near  the  foot  of  the  Mouzaia  Pass.  The  veins  are 
composed  of  spathic  iron  and  gray  copper  ore,  and  are  con- 
tained in  rocks  which  are  very  high  up  in  the  geological 
series,  belonging  partly  to  the  gault  and  partly  to  the  mid- 
dle tertiary. 

EAST  INDIA. — Copper  is  found  in  the  Ramghur  Hills, 
about  150  miles  from  Calcutta.  The  locality  is  said  to  be 
valuable,  and  might  produce  largely,  were  foreign  labor  and 
capital  applied  to  its  development.  The  natives  smelt  the 
ore  with  charcoal,  although  mineral  coal  is  said  to  exist  in 
the  neighborhood. 

JAPAN. — Large  quantities  of  copper  have  been  sent  from 
Japan  to  China  and  Holland,  that  being  one  of  the  principal 
articles  of  which  the  exportation  is  permitted.  The  quality 
of  the  metal  is  very  superior.  There  is,  of  course,  but  little 
information  in  regard  to  its  mode  of  occurrence.  The 
quantity  .exported  is  about  1000  tons  per  annum,  as  near  as 
can  be  ascertained. 

AUSTRALIA. — The  cupriferous  deposits  of  this  country 
were  very  celebrated  before  they  were  thrown  in  the  shade 
comparatively  by  the  gold  discoveries.  The  first  mine  of 
copper  was  opened  in  1836,  on  a  location  thirty-four  miles 
distant  from  Adelaide ;  and  in  1848  more  than  twenty 
companies  were  at  work,  or  preparing  to  commence  opera- 
tions, in  that  region,  of  which  twelve  had  shipped  ore,  al- 
though only  one  had  been  very  successful.  This  was  the 
celebrated  Burra-Burra  Mine,  which  was  opened  in  Septem- 
ber 1845,  and  at  once  began  to  produce  largely. 

The  ore  is  chiefly  the  red  oxide,  mixed  with  the  green 
carbonate ;  and  it  seems  to  form  a  powerful  vein  in  a  rock 
analogous  to  the  killas  of  Cornwall,  both  in  a  mineralogical 
and  geological  point  of  view.  The  distance  of  the  mine 
from  Adelaide,  eighty-six  miles,  gives  employment  to  a  great 
number  of  persons  in  conveying  the  ore,  which  has  to  be 
transported  over  a  very  bad  road.  The  greatest  drawback 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  mine,  is  the  want  of  wood  for  tim- 
bering the  works  and  for  smelting  the  ore.  But  so  rich 
is  the  ore  and  so  abundant,  that  large  profits  have  been 


240  BURRA-BURRA    MINE. 

realized.  Only  .£6  had  been  paid  in  on  a  share ;  and  in 
January  1850,  the  stock  was  quoted  at  £157.  The  last 
dividend  was  paid  in  March  1853,  of  £5  per  share  on  2464 
shares ;  the  whole  amount  of  dividends  paid  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  mine,  was  £135  per  share.  At  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  Australia,  the  produce  of  this  mine  was 
enormous ;  but  the  gold  excitement  drew  all  the  miners  away. 
The  produce  for  the  six  months  ending  September  30,  1851, 
immediately  preceding  the  gold  discoveries,  was  10,732  tons 
of  ore,  on  which  the  profit  was  £49,506.  The  prudence  of 
the  managers  in  declining  to  declare  any  more  dividends 
until  the  arrival  of  additional  labor,  although  with  a  balance 
of  profits  of  £73,539,  cannot  be  too  highly  commended.  As 
labor  gradually  flows  into  Australia,  the  working  of  this  ex- 
traordinary mine  will  be  resumed,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  its  capacity  to  yield  largely  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

The  following  are  the  returns  of  ore  raised  from  the  mine 
up  to  the  time  of  the  gold  discoveries : — 

1846,  - 

1847,  - 

1848,  - 

There  were  1003  persons  employed  in  and  about  the  mine, 
in  1849  and  '50.  The  amount  of  ore  shipped  to  England 
may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  sales  at  Swansea,  at  the  close 
of  this  chapter ;  the  amounts  there  given  for  Australia  being 
almost  entirely  from  this  mine.  The  yield  of  the  ore  shipped 
to  England  was  usually  from  24  to  28  per  cent.  In  1852,  a 
magnificent  250  horse-power  engine  was  erected  at  the  mine ; 
cylinder  80  inches  diameter,  and  11  feet  stroke ;  the  cost  of 
running  it  amounted  to  £200  per  week,  so  great  is  the  scarcity 
of  fuel.  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  proprietors,  held  at 
Adelaide,  October  19,  1853,  it  appeared  that  in  spite  of  the 
continued  attractions  of  the  gold-fields  the  mine  had  begun 
to  resume  work ;  1780  tons  of  18  per  cent,  ore  having  been 
taken  out  in  the  preceding  six  months,  and  the  number  of 
under-ground  men  having  been  increased  to  eighty. 

Kapunda  Mine.     This  is  next  in  importance  to  the  Burra-Burra.     It  shipped 


Tons  of  ore. 
6,359 
10,794 
12,791 

Tons  of  ore. 

1850,     - 

-     18,092 

Year. 

1844, 
1845, 

Tons. 
20 
.   450 

Year. 

1849, 
3850, 

1846, 
1847, 
1848, 

.   850 
.  1600 
.  1500 

1851, 
1852, 
1853, 

COPPER    IN    SOUTH    AMERICA.  241 

to  England,  in  1846,  1386  tons,  and  in  1847,  1382  tons  of  ore,  varying  from 
20  to  50  per  cent,  in  richness. 

After  1849  the  shipments  of  ore  to  Swansea  began  to  fall 
off  rapidly,  smelting  works  having  been  erected  at  several 
points  in  Australia,  although  the  cost  of  fuel  is  enormous. 

The  amount  of  metallic  copper  furnished  to  commerce  by 
Australia  was,  as  near  as  can  be  estimated : — 

Tons. 
.  2500 
.  3300 
.  3500 
.  3250 
.  2650 

The  effect  of  the  gold  discoveries  was  very  sensibly  felt  in 
the  amount  of  ore  raised  from  the  mines  in  the  years  imme- 
diately following  1850  ;  but  as  a  considerable  quantity  of  ore 
had  already  accumulated,  or  was  on  its  way  to  market,  the 
table  above  does  not  indicate  as  great  a  falling  off  as  actually 
took  place. 

NEW  ZEALAND. — A  copper  mine  is  worked  to  some  extent 
by  a  Scotch  Company  at  Kaw-aw.  Their  sales  of  ore  have 
not  been  over  a  few  hundred  tons  annually. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. — Although  cupriferous  veins  have  been 
found  along  the  whole  chain  of  the  Andes,  from  one  ex- 
tremity to  the  other  of  South  America,  yet  the  mines  now 
extensively  worked  are  chiefly  confined  to  Chili.  There  are, 
however,  in  Peru,  some  veins  which  are  worked  in  spite  of 
the  great  disadvantages  under  which  the  mineral  industry  of 
that  country  labors. 

According  to  M.  Crosnier,*  the  law  of  the  geological 
distribution  of  the  copper  ores  in  Peru  is  similar  to  that  in 
Chili.  A  great  number  of  auriferous  and  cupriferous  veins 
are  found  in  the  granitic  and  igneous  rock ;  but  in  this  for- 
mation, whatever  the  nature  of  the  ores  may  be,  they  never 
contain  silver.  In  the  stratified  rocks,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  are,  in  addition  to  numerous  veins  of  silver  ores  and 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  ii.  10. 
16 


242  COPPER    MINES    IN    CHILI. 

argentiferous  galena,  many  others  bearing  ores  of  copper, 
which  always  contain  more  or  less  silver  in  combination. 

Near  Antarangra  a  vein  is  worked  to  some  extent,  which 
furnishes  rich  cupriferous  ores,  giving  at  one  operation  a 
regulus  yielding  fifty  per  cent,  of  metal,  which  is  sent  to 
England  to  be  refined.  Near  Colcabamba  is  another  furnace, 
smelting  ores  which  occur  in  a  segregated  mass  in  the 
granite.  There  are  numerous  veins  of  argentiferous  copper 
ores  in  the  districts  of  Niiiobamba  and  Castra  Vireyna,  which 
were  formerly  wrought  very  extensively  by  the  Spanish: 
recently,  the  attention  of  the  Peruvians  has  been  turned  to 
them,  and  several  companies  have  been  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  them  up  again.  The  whole  amount  of  copper 
produced  in  Peru  is  very  small,  and  cannot  be  given  with 
exactness.  We  imported  into  this  country,  in  1852, 157  tons 
from  this  source. 

CHILI. — In  spite  of  the  very  great  difficulties  which  the 
mining  interest  of  this  country  has  had  to  contend  with, 
such  as  the  entire  want  of  facilities  for  communication,  and 
the  high  price  of  materials  of  every  kind,  it  has  been  de- 
veloped rapidly  within  the  last  few  years.  Copper  is  the 
most  important  product,  although  the  amount  of  silver 
raised  is  very  considerable. 

Among  the  important  mines  are  those  of  Carrisal,  north 
of  the  valley  of  Huasco.  They  are  in  a  feldspathic  rock. 
Those  of  San  Juan  and  La  Higuera,  between  Huasco  and 
Coquimbo,  also  furnish  a  large  quantity  of  rich  ore,  of  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  per  cent. :  it  consists  principally  of 
copper  pyrites  and  oxide  of  copper.  Numerous  mines  are 
worked  in  the  vicinity  of  Copiapo.  Here  was  obtained, 
from  the  upper  part  of  the  veins,  an  immense  quantity  of 
gold,  up  to  the  close  of  the  last  century.  As  the  gold  began 
to  fall  off,  copper  was  found ;  and  in  1845  there  were  more 
than  fifty  mines  at  work  in  the  department  of  Copiapo, 
producing  an  ore  of  from  twenty-three  to  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  metal,  part  of  which  was  smelted  there,  but  the  larger 
portion  was  shipped  to  England.  At  the  Cerro  del  Cobre 
Mines,  the  ore,  red  oxide  and  pyrites,  is  mixed  with  mag- 
netic oxide  of  iron.  The  principal  vein  of  the  Cerro  Blanco 


CUBA. 


243 


district  was  worked  for  silver  to  a  depth  of  600  feet  below 
the  summit  of  the  mountain.  Here  the  ore  changed  gradu- 
ally, and  consisted  principally  of  gray  copper  and  galena : 
at  a  still  greater  depth  the  gray  ore  gave  way  to  pyritous 
copper,  and  the  proportion  of  lead  increased. 

No  country,  unless  it  be  England,  exceeds  Chili  in  the 
extent  of  its  production  of  copper  ;  and  these  two  countries 
together  supply  more  than  half  of  the  amount  consumed  in 
the  world.  The  yield  of  Chili  for  1849  and  a  few  of  the 
previous  years,  as  near  as  can  be  determined,  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 


Years. 

1840,  . 

1845,  . 

184G,  , 


Tons. 

9,000 

13,270 

13,800 


Years. 

1847,  . 

1848,  . 

1849,  . 


Tons. 
11,850 
12,275 
12,450 


Since  1849,  the  production  has  probably  increased  some- 
what, although  it  has  not  been  possible  to  obtain  any  reliable 
information  as  to  its  amount,  the  statistics  of  the  South 
American  mines  being  always  exceedingly  imperfect.  The 
following  table  will  show  at  once  the  great  and  increasing 
importance  of  our  imports  of  this  metal  from  Chili. 

VALUE    OF   IMPORTS    OF   COPPER   INTO   THE    UNITED    STATES    FROM    CHILI    (YEARS 


ENDING   JUNE    30TH). 


1849. 

Ores, $102,817 

Pigs,  bars,  and  old,    779,376 
Sheathing,    . 
Sundries,      .     .     . 

$882,193 


1850. 

1851. 

1852. 

$155,002 

$52,164 

$230,497 

1,008,044 

1,367,191 

1,294,481 

13,656 

221 

8,579 

178,108 

1.171,625 


1,611,119 


1,525,199 


CUBA. — The  copper  mines  of  this  island  have  been  of  great 
importance ;  but  of  late  have  somewhat  fallen  off  in  their 
yield.  The  ores  do  not  seem  to  be  in  regular  veins,  but  in 
beds  and  masses,  subordinate  to  igneous  rocks,  especially 
greenstone  and  serpentine.  The  gangues  are  quartz,  dolo- 
mite, and  carbonate  of  lime.  The  yellow  sulphurets  are 
associated  with  hydrated  oxide  of  iron ;  near  the  surface  con- 
siderable native  copper,  red  oxide  and  carbonate,  and  other 
oxidized  ores,  have  been  found.  The  ore  appears,  thus  far, 


244 


YIELD  OF  THE  CUBA  MINES. 


to  have  been  entirely  exported  from  the  island  to  be  smelted ; 
and,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  sent  to  this  coun- 
try, it  is  sold  at  Swansea.  The  table  of  the  sales  of  ores  at 
Swansea,  therefore,  in  which  those  furnished  by  Cuba  are 
included  under  one  head,  will  serve  to  give  a  pretty  good 
idea  of  the  progress  of  the  copper  mines  of  the  island.  The 
yield  of  the  ores  sold  at  Swansea  has  usually  been  from  15 
to  18  per  cent. 

There  are  two  principal  companies  working  on  the  island, 
both  of  which  are  English.  They  are  the  Cobre  and  the 
Royal  Santiago. 

Consolidated  Copper  Mines  of  Cobre  Association. — This  is  the  principal 
Cuban  company,  and  has  been  in  operation  since  1834.  Their  affairs  are  not 
made  public,  but  they  are  well  known  to  have  been  highly  successful.  They 
have  12,000  shares,  on  each  of  which  £40  has  been  paid  in,  and  which  now 
stand  at  a  small  premium.  They  have  divided  £61  12s.  per  share,  up  to 
January,  1854.  Their  sales  of  ore  have  been  nearly  as  follows  : — 


Years. 
1836 

Tons  of  ore. 
2,077 

Years. 
1843,  . 

Tons  of  ore. 
16,433 

1837 

5  346 

1844 

17  744 

1838 

6  758 

1845 

22  741 

1839 

10  732 

1846 

14  755 

1840 

16  699 

1847 

14  711 

1841 

22094 

1848,  . 

21,761 

1842, 

22,544 

1849.  , 

19,772 

The  average  yield  of  the  ore  shipped  is  about  16  per  cent. 

The  principal  depot  for  copper  ores  is  at  Port  du  Salle,  four  miles  from 
Santiago.  Thence  there  is  a  railroad  to  Cobre,  nine  miles  distant. 

Royal  Santiago  Mining  Company. — This  company  was  formed  in  1837,  and 
has  17,000  shares,  on  each  of  which  £13  has  been  paid  in.  From  1840  to 
1845,  55,440  tons  of  ores  were  raised,  of  the  value  of  £577,533,  at  an  expense 
of  £247,043,  the  net  profit  realized  being  £48  per  ton.  Up  to  1848,  £33  4s. 
per  share  had  been  paid  in  dividends  ;  but  since  that  time  the  mines  have  been 
worked  at  a  loss,  and  in  1853  an  assessment  had  to  be  called. 

The  mine  at  the  present  time  is  about  110  fathoms  deep. 

The  total  amount  of  copper  produced  in  Cuba  appears  to 
have  been  nearly  as  follows  for  the  years  indicated : — 

Years.  Tons. 

1835,  ....  681 

1840,  .          .          .          .4,139 

1845,  ....  6,532 

1846,  ....  4,092 

1847,  ....  3,288 

1848,  ....  3,867 


Years. 

Tons. 

1849, 

.   3,594 

1850, 

.   3,239 

1851, 

.   3,300 

1852, 

.   2,500 

1853,   . 

.   2,200 

COPPER  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.       245 

The  amount  of  copper  imported  into  this  country  from 
Cuba  has  never  been  large.  It  was,  in  the  last  four  years, 
in  value  as  follows : — 


1849.  1850.  1851.  1852. 

Sheathing, $188 

Pigs,  bars,  &c., 27,266  $38,848  $8,740  $24,820 

Ores, 3,980  1,294  2,331  1,793 


$31,434  40,142  11,071  26,613 

JAMAICA. — The  attention  of  English  capitalists  has  been 
recently  drawn  to  this  island,  and  several  companies  have 
been  formed  for  working  copper  veins  which  are  known  to 
exist  there. 

The  Jamaica  Copper  Mining  Company  has  several  localities 
where  valuable  lodes  are  reported  as  having  been  found. 
Among  them  are  the  Mount  Vernon,  "Washington,  and  Blox- 
burgh  mines. 

MEXICO. — Ores  of  copper  are  found  scattered  through 
Mexico  in  considerable  abundance,  but  they  are  not  worked 
to  any  extent  as  yet.  The  following  localities  are  mentioned 
by  Humboldt :  the  mines  of  Ingaran,  a  little  south  of  the 
volcano  of  Jorullo,  and  San  Juan  Guetamo,  in  the  province 
of  Valladolid.  The  ores  are  vitreous  copper  and  the  red 
oxide,  as  also  native  copper. 


SECTION  III. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF   COPPER   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


to  gold  and  iron,  copper  is  the  most  important  metal 
to  the  United  States  ;  since,  although  the  value  of  the  lead 
raised  in  this  country  may  exceed  that  of  the  copper  at  pre- 
sent, yet  the  large  amount  of  capital  invested  in  mining  for 
the  latter  metal,  the  certainty  of  its  increasing  production, 
the  extent  and  number  of  the  mines  from  which  it  is  obtained, 
and  the  fact  that  general  attention  has  been  called  to  its 
occurrence,  within  a  few  years,  by  the  discovery  of  a  new 


246    CUPRIFEROUS    MINES    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

and  interesting  cupriferous  region  in  this  country,  all  com- 
bine to  give  to  this  metal  a  predominating  interest.  Of 
copper  only  can  it  thus  far  be  said,  in  speaking  of  the  United 
States,  that  there  are  large,  productive,  and  permanent 
mines. 

The  copper  mines,  and  localities  where  ores  have  been 
discovered,  in  the  United  States,  may  be  classed  according  to 
the  following  scheme,  which  is  formed  partly  on  a  geogra- 
phical and  partly  on  a  geological  basis. 

I.  LAKE  SUPERIOR  COPPER  REGION. 

Native  copper,  in  true  veins,  in  the  trappean  rocks  and 
associated  conglomerates  and  sandstones  of  lower  Silurian 
age  ;  extensively  worked. 

II.    COPPER   DEPOSITS    OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 

Ores  of  copper,  chiefly  pyritous,  in  the  unaltered  lime- 
stones and  sandstones  of  lower  Silurian  age  ;  mostly  occur- 
ring in  gash-veins,  or  contact-deposits :  principal  localities, 
in  Wisconsin  and  Missouri ;  not  worked  at  present  to  any 
extent. 

III.     CUPRIFEROUS    DEPOSITS    OF    THE   ATLANTIC    STATES. 

The  deposits  of  this  division  are  not  to  be  separated 
geographically  ;  but,  geologically,  they  may  be  described  in 
three  groups,  as  follows  : — 

a.  The  copper-bearing  veins  of  the  Appalachian  chain, 
in   rocks  of  the  metamorphic  palaeozoic  age  ;   ores  chiefly 
pyritous  ;  deposits  mostly  in  the  form  of  segregated  veins ; 
localities  numerous,  extending  along  the  flanks  of  the  great 
Appalachian  chain,  from  Vermont  to  Tennessee.     Worked 
in  numerous  places. 

b.  Deposits  in  the   sandstones  and   associated  trappean 
rocks,  of  the  formation  commonly  called  the  New  Eed  Sand- 
stone :  ores,  carbonate,  oxide,  and  native  copper,  principally ; 
contact-deposits,  usually  of  limited  depth.     Localities  nu- 
merous, in  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey;  formerly  exten- 
sively worked,  but  now  abandoned. 

c.  Veins  traversing  the  new  red  sandstone  and  the  older 


COPPER    REGION    OF    LAKE    SUPERIOR.  247 

metamorphic  rocks,  and  bearing  principally  ores  of  copper 
in  the  sandstone.  Locality  confined  to  Montgomery  and 
Chester  Counties,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  extensively 
worked. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  each  of  the 
above-mentioned  divisions  in  order,  beginning  with  Lake 
Superior. 

THE  COPPER  REGION  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

The  occurrence  of  native  copper  on  Lake  Superior  has 
been  known  since  the  time  of  the  earliest  explorations  of  the 
Jesuit  Fathers,  who  in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury travelled  extensively  in  that  region,  and  whose  accounts 
are  filled  with  the  most  exaggerated  and  extravagant  stories 
of  the  abundance  of  the  metal.*  Other  travellers  through 
the  great  northwestern  lakes  added  their  testimony,  and 
embellished  the  previous  accounts  with  stories  of  gold  and 
precious  stones.  The  first  actual  mining  operations  within 
historical  times  were  commenced  near  the  Forks  of  the 
Ontonagon,  in  1771,  by  Alexander  Henry.  Having  worked 
without  success  for  a  while  at  this  point,  searching  in  the 
clay  bluffs  which  line  that  river  for  masses  of  native  copper, 
operations  were  transferred  in  the  next  year  to  the  north 
shore  of  the  Lake  ;  but,  as  might  have  been  expected  under 
the  circumstances,  they  proved  entirely  abortive. 

In  1819,  Gen.  Cass,  accompanied  by  Mr.  II.  R.  Schoolcraft, 
made  a  journey  along  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior 
to  the  Mississippi,  and  visited  the  famous  mass  of  native  cop- 
per lying  in  the  west  branch  of  the  Ontonagon.  A  few  years 
later,  in  1823,  Major  Long,  acting  under  the  orders  of  the  War 
Department,  passed  along  the  north  side  of  the  Lake  on  his 
return  from  a  scientific  expedition  to  the  Mississippi  and  St. 
Peter's  Rivers.  Professor  Keating,  the  geologist  of  the  party, 
mentions  that  they  had  seen  numerous  boulders  of  native 
copper  strewed  over  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  All  the 
early  explorers  seemed  to  agree  that  copper  might  be  found  in 
abundance  ;  but  that,  so  great  was  the  distance  of  this  region 

*  See  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report  on  Geol.  of  Lake  Superior,  Part  I.  p.  6. 


248     HISTORY    OF    THE    LAKE     SUPERIOR    REGION. 

from  a  market,  and  so  wild  and  unsettled  the  country,  there 
would  be  little  prospect  of  any  mines  being  worked  with 
profit. 

Their  observations,  however,  could  not  fail  to  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  region,  and  not  long  after  this  portion  of  the 
country  came  into  the  possession  of  the  State  of  Michigan, 
an  exploration  was  commenced  by  Dr.  Douglass  Houghton, 
State  Geologist,  and  his  official  report  did  more  than  anything 
else  towards  awakening  an  interest  in  that  region,  and  direct- 
ing towards  it  the  attention  of  explorers.  In  1841  he  pub- 
lished an  account  of  his  observations,  in  the  form  of  an 
annual  report  to  the  Legislature  of  Michigan,  in  which  the 
first  definite  information  with  regard  to  the  occurrence  of 
native  copper,  in  place,  on  Lake  Superior,  wras  given  to  the 
public.  Afterwards  he  undertook  to  carry  on  a  linear  survey 
of  the  northern  peninsula  of  Michigan,  comprising  the  whole 
extent  of  the  copper  and  iron-bearing  districts,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  geological  exploration  ;  while  engaged  in  the  exe- 
cution of  this  survey,  and  before  it  was  fairly  commenced, 
he  was  drowned  during  a  snow  storm  and  gale,  near  Eagle 
River,  on  the  13th  of  October,  1845.  But  already  mining 
operations  had  commenced  in  that  region,  and  explorers 
and  speculators  were  flocking  to  it  from  all  quarters. 

The  cession  by  the  Chippeways  to  the  United  States  of  the 
district  extending  from  Chocolate  River,  west  to  the  Mon- 
treal, and  southerly  as  far  as  the  boundary  of  Wisconsin, 
which  was  ratified  March  12,  1843,  was  the  signal  for  the 
opening  of  the  Lake  Superior  mineral  region  to  the  pioneers 
of  the  West.  During  the  following  summer  (1843),  several 
miners  crossed  over  from  Wisconsin  by  land,  and  selected 
numerous  tracts  of  land,  including  many  of  those  now  occu- 
pied by  the  best  mines  in  the  country.  These  tracts,  at  first 
three  miles  square,  and  afterwards  reduced  to  one  mile,  were 
leased  by  the  War  Department  to  the  persons  applying  for 
them,  in  virtue  of  an  Act  of  Congress  made  in  reference  to 
the  lead  lands  of  Illinois.  By  the  terms  of  the  leases  the 
applicant  was  required  to  work  the  mines  he  might  discover 
on  the  tract  selected  by  him  with  all  due  diligence,  and 
render  to  the  United  States  six  percent,  of  all  the  ores  raised. 


LAKE    SUPERIOR    COPPER    SPECULATIONS.        249 

In  the  summer  of  1844,  as  soon  as  it  became  generally 
known  that  the  Lake  Superior  country  was  opened  to  settle- 
ment, numerous  persons  visited  that  region,  and  the  first 
mining  operations  were  commenced,  on  leases  secured  the 
year  before.  Many  loose  masses  of  native  copper,  some  of 
which  contained  silver,  and  were  of  large  size,  were  picked 
up,  and  discoveries  of  veins  and  deposits  of  copper  in  the 
rock  were  made.  When  these  facts  were  reported  in  the 
eastern  cities,  of  course  with  many  exaggerations,  a  great 
excitement  or  "  copper  fever"  was  the  result,  and  in  1845  the 
shores  of  Keweenaw  Point  were  whitened  with  the  tents  of 
speculators  and  so-called  geologists.  Many  hundred  "per- 
mits," or  rights  to  select  and  locate  on  tracts  of  land  for  mining 
purposes,  were  issued  by  the  Department,  and  three  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  leases  were  granted.  Most  of  the  tracts 
covered  by  these  were  taken  at  random,  and  without  any 
explorations  whatever ;  indeed,  a  large  portion  of  them  were 
on  rocks  which  do  not  contain  any  metalliferous  veins  at  all, 
or  in  which  the  veins,  when  they  do  occur,  are  not  found  to 
be  productive. 

In  1846  the  excitement  reached  its  climax ;  the  specula- 
tions in  stocks  were  continued  as  long  as  it  was  possible  to 
find  a  purchaser,  and  a  serious  injury  was  inflicted  on  the 
mining  interests  of  the  country  by  the  unprincipled  attempts 
to  palm  off  worthless  property  as  containing  valuable  veins. 
But  every  such  mania  must  have  an  end,  and  in  1847  the 
bubble  had  burst,  and  the  country  was  almost  deserted.  Only 
half  a  dozen  companies,  out  of  all  that  had  been  formed,  were 
actually  engaged  in  mining. 

The  issue  of  permits  and  leases  having  been  suspended  in 
1846  as  illegal,  Congress  passed,  in  1847,  an  Act,  authorizing 
the  sale  of  the  mineral  lands,  and  a  geological  survey  of  the 
district.  In  the  mean  time,  while  this  survey  was  going  on, 
the  companies  which  had  continued  their  operations  made 
considerable  progress,  new  ones  were  formed,  and  lands  were 
purchased  by  them  after  bonafide  explorations  and  discoveries 
of  veins,  the  position  and  character  of  the  really  metalliferous 
rocks  began  to  be  known,  and  confidence  was  gradually 
restored.  At  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  geological 


250  ANCIENT    MINING    ON    LAKE    SUPERIOR. 

survey,  in  1850,  arid  the  publication,  in  the  following  year, 
of  maps  of  the  whole  region,  on  which  the  range  and  extent 
of  the  geological  formations  were  laid  down,  copper  mining 
in  the  Lake  Superior  district  had  become  established  on  a 
firm  basis,  and  was  rapidly  developing. 

It  is  not  possible  here  to  describe  the  "  ancient  mining" 
on  Lake  Superior,  wrhich  is  of  so  much  interest  at  the  pre- 
sent day  to  the  antiquarian,  and  even  to  the  explorer,  as  a 
clue  to  the  richness  of  the  veins.  It  may  be  stated,  however, 
that  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  copper  region,  from 
the  extremity  of  Keweenaw  Point  to  a  considerable  distance 
beyond  the  Ontonagon,  and  on  Isle  lioyale  even,  numerous 
excavations,  made  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  copper,  have 
been  found,  and  which  must  evidently  have  been  made  at  a 
very  remote  period.  Some  of  this  ancient  mine-work  is  on  a 
quite  extensive  scale ;  in  one  instance,  at  least,  attaining  the 
depth  of  fifty  feet  in  the  solid  rock.  The  principal  tools 
found  in  the  excavations  are  the  so-called  stone-hammers,  or 
small  boulders  of  rock  around  which  a  groove  has  been  cut 
for  the  purpose  of  fastening  on  a  handle.  These  are  accu- 
mulated in  some  of  the  ancient  pits  in  great  quantities  ;  with 
them,  fragments  of  charcoal  have  been  often  noticed,  indi- 
cating that  the  method  pursued  by  the  miners  was  similar  to 
that  still  employed  in  some  of  the  European  mines,  in  the 
use  of  fire  to  attack  the  rock.  A  few  tools  of  copper  and 
wood  have  been  also  discovered ;  but  no  remains  of  habita- 
tions, or  burial-places,  which  might  furnish  a  clue  as  to  the 
race  by  which  this  work  was  done,  have  yet  been  found.  It 
•  is  known,  from  the  size  and  age  of  the  trees  growing  over 
many  of  these  excavations,  that  they  are  several  hundred 
years  old,  at  least.  The  present  Indians  have  no  traditions 
as  to  copper  mining  in  the  region,  and  have  riot  now  any 
conception  of  how,  or  by  whom,  the  work  could  have  been 
done. 

Having  thus  given  a  short  sketch  of  the  progress  of  the 
Lake  Superior  region,  opening  the  way  to  the  development 
of  its  mineral  resources,  it  will  be  proper  to  add  a  few  words 
with  regard  to  its  geological  structure,  before  proceeding  to 
consider  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  copper. 


GEOLOGY    OF    LAKE    SUPERIOR.  251 

The  basin  of  Lake  Superior,  the  largest  collection  of  fresh 
water  known,  occupies,  for  the  most  part,  a  great  synclinal 
trough,  caused  by  a  depression  in  the  sandstone  which  ap- 
pears to  form  its  bed.  From  each  side  of  the  Lake,  the  dip  of 
the  strata  is  towards  its  centre.  The  northern  and  southern 
shores,  which  for  a  considerable  distance  are  160  mites  apart, 
are  very  different  in  character  and  appearance.  On  the 
north,  around  the  deep  bays,  which  extend  inland  from  30  to 
40  miles  in  some  instances,  almost  perpendicular  cliffs  rise 
from  the  water's  edge,  sometimes  to  the  height  of  more  than 
1000  feet,  presenting  scenes  of  picturesque  grandeur  un- 
rivalled in  the  Northwest.  The  southern  shore,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  comparatively  low,  only  occasionally  rising  to  a 
height  not  exceeding  200  feet  above  the  Lake. 

The  reason  of  this  difference  in  the  aspect  of  the  two 
shores  is  easily  perceived,  upon  noticing  their  geological 
structure.  On  the  east  and  north,  the  sandstone  which 
originally  existed  there  has  been  worn  away,  until  the  more 
enduring  granite  and  trappean  rocks  only  were  left,  pre- 
senting an  effectual  barrier  against  the  farther  encroachment 
of  the  Lake ;  only  here  and  there  limited  patches  of  the 
sedimentary  rocks  remain,  where  they  were  sheltered  from 
the  action  of  the  waters,  standing  as  outliers  in  the  small 
islands  along  the  coast,  and  behind  Isle  Royale. 

This  sandstone  appears  along  nearly  the  entire  southern 
shore  of  the  Lake,  from  Saut  Ste.  Marie  to  Fond  du  Lac,  its 
continuity  being  interrupted  in  only  a  few  points,  where  the 
trappean  or  granitic  ranges  have  been  for  a  short  distance 
denuded  of  the  sedimentary  beds  which  were  originally  de- 
posited upon  them.  The  general  trend  of  the  southern  shore 
is  east  and  west,  but  at  a  nearly  equal  distance  from  each  end 
of  the  Lake,  the  regularity  of  its  outline  is  broken  by  a  pro- 
jecting point  of  land,  which  extends  for  sixty  or  seventy  miles 
in  a  northeast  direction,  gradually  curving  round  to  the  east. 
This  is  Point  Keweenaw,  the  locality  where,  by  the  present 
generation,  the  copper-bearing  veins  were  first  opened  and 
worked. 

The  sandstone  of  Lake  Superior,  in  regard  to  the  geologi- 
cal position  of  which  there  was  formerly  some  disagreement, 


252  GEOLOGY    OF    LAKE    SUPERIOR. 

has  now  been  satisfactorily  determined  to  be  of  Lower  Silu- 
rian age,  and  probably  the  equivalent  of  the  Potsdam  Sand- 
stone, the  lowest  fossiliferous  rock  recognized  in  this 
country.*  Above  it,  as  we  proceed  southward  from  any  point 
between  Saut  Ste.  Marie  and  the  Pictured  Rocks,  we  find 
the  upper  members  of  the  Silurian  system  cropping  out  in  suc- 
cession, with  a  slight  southerly  dip.  Along  this  portion  of  the 
Lake  the  sandstone  lies  nearly  horizontally,  and  is  made  up 
of  rounded  grains  of  quartzose  sand,  but  slightly  colored  by 
iron,  and  having  little  coherence,  and  the  whole  thickness 
does  not  seem  to  exceed  300  or  400  feet.  Where  it  comes  in 
contact  with  the  older  azoic  rocks,  as  may  be  observed  in 
the  vicinity  of  Carp  and  Chocolate  Rivers,  it  is  seen  resting 
unconformably  upon  them,  having  been  deposited  nearly 
horizontally  on  their  upturned  edges.  On  Keweeiiaw  Point, 
however,  its  character  is  entirely  changed ;  it  has  increased 
greatly  in  thickness,  is  tilted  up  at  a  considerable  angle,  and 
is  associated  with  very  heavy  beds  of  conglomerate  and  trap- 
pean  rock.  On  tracing  into  the  interior  the  ranges  which 
approach  the  Lake  at  the  extremity  of  Keweenaw  Point,  they 
are  found  to  extend  in  a  general  southwesterly  direction 
along  the  whole  line  of  the  Lake,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  miles 
from  it,  and,  gradually  becoming  less  conspicuous  in  Wis- 
consin, they  finally  disappear  before  reaching  the  Mississippi. 

They  form  a  series,  usually  of  two,  but  sometimes  of  three 
or  more  parallel  ridges,  having  an  average  height  above  the 
Lake  of  about  500  feet,  and  presenting  steep  mural  faces  to- 
ward the  south,  while  dipping  at  a  moderate  angle  in  the 
direction  of  the  Lake  to  the  north.  Along  this  line  of  eleva- 
tions, which  is  familiarly  known  in  the  region  as  the  "  Trap 
Range,"  the  copper  mines  of  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Superior  are  situated,  the  metalliferous  belt  occupying  in 
Michigan  a  length  of  over  120  miles  and  a  breadth  varying 
usually  from  two  to  six  miles. 

The  rocks  of  which  the  trap  range  is  made  up  are  some- 
what varied  in  their  mineralogical. character,  but  they  belong 
mostly  to  the  igneous  class,  and  it  is  apparent,  from  their 

*  F.  &  W.  Report  on  Geol.  of  Lake  Superior,  Part  I.  p.  99. 


VARIETIES    OF    TRAPPEAN    ROCKS.  253 

mode  of  formation  and  position,  that  they  were  poured  out 
from  the  interior  of  the  earth,  at  the  time  the  deposition  of 
the  sandstone  was  going  on,  from  a  series  of  fissures  which 
extended  along  the  line  now  occupied  by  the  metalliferous 
formation.  In  the  more  elevated  and  central  portion  of  the 
range,  the  igneous  rocks  predominate,  containing  intercalated 
beds  of  conglomerate,  of  very  inconsiderable  thickness,  be- 
tween heavy  masses  of  trappean  rock.  As  we  recede  from 
the  line  of  igneous  action  in  either  direction,  we  find  that  the 
belts  of  trap  become  thinner,  the  conglomerate  predominates, 
but  gradually  disappears,  and  is  succeeded  by  the  sandstone 
with  its  normal  character.  Thus  the  appearance  of  the  con- 
glomerate is  seen  to  be  allied  with,  and  subordinate  to,  that 
of  the  igneous  masses,  and  it  appears  to  have  been  a  result  of 
the  combined  action  of  the  two  classes  of  agencies  by  which 
the  trap  and  sandstone  were  formed.  The  whole  system  of 
the  bedded  trap  and  the  interstratified  masses  of  conglome- 
rate is  developed  on  a  grand  scale,  some  of  the  single  beds 
acquiring  a  thickness  of  several  thousand  feet. 

The  lithological  character  of  the  trappean  rocks  is  quite 
varied,  and  their  mechanical  structure  is  liable  to  important 
changes.  The  usual  mineral  components  of  the  trap  are 
labradorite  and  augite,  with  a  smaller  proportion  of  various 
other  minerals,  among  which  magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  chlorite, 
and  epidote  are  the  most  abundant,  with  smaller  quantities 
of  the  zeolitic  minerals  and  calc.  spar,  as  accidental  ingre- 
dients. The  feldspathic  and  augitic  portions  are  usually 
finely  granular,  and  form  a  compact  homogeneous  paste,  in 
which  the  others  are  embedded;  and  the  recognized  diffe- 
rences in  the  characters  of  the  different  trappean  beds  do 
not  seem  to  depend  so  much  on  chemical  composition  as  on 
mechanical  structure ;  as  they  seem  in  most  cases  to  contain 
the  same  or  very  similar  mineralogical  components,  in  very 
different  conditions  of  mechanical  aggregation ;  at  least, 
chemical  analysis  has  not  yet  given  a  clue  to  the  nature  of 
those  changes  in  the  character  of  the  rocks  which  are  easily 
perceived  by  the  eye. 

There  are  certain  varieties  of  the  trappean  rock  which  are 
universally  recognized  in  the  Lake  Superior  region,  and 


254      METALLIC    PRODUCTS    OF    LAKE    SUPERIOR. 

which  have  a  marked  influence  on  the  character  of  the  veins 
as  they  pass  through  them.  These  changes  of  character  are 
most  distinctly  perceived  on  Isle  Royale  and  Keweenaw 
Point,  where  the  bedded  structure  of  the  trap  is  more  appa- 
rent than  in  the  other  districts.  There  are  two  kinds  of  trap 
especially  well-marked  on  Keweenaw  Point,  the  amygdaloid, 
and  the  crystalline  trap  or  greenstone.  Of  these,  the  former 
is  the  productive,  the  latter  the  unproductive  rock.  The 
veins  seem  to  be  best  developed  and  richest  in  metallic  con- 
tents in  a  rock  which  is  neither  too  crystalline  and  compact, 
nor  too  soft  and  porous ;  in  the  beds  which  have  a  very 
vesicular  structure  they  are  liable  to  lose  their  regularity  and 
form  floors  of  vein-stone,  with  but  little  metallic  matter,  or 
too  irregularly  distributed  to  be  worked  with  profit :  in  the 
very  compact  and  finely  crystalline  rock,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  are  pinched  up  and  barren. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  Lake  Superior  district 
is  the  character  of  its  metalliferous  product,  which  is  not  an 
ore  of  copper,  but  exclusively  the  native  metal,  which  pre- 
vious to  the  opening  of  this  new  mining  region  had  never 
formed  the  object  of  persistent  mining  operations.  Native 
copper  does  indeed  occur  in  many  veins,  but  usually  in  small 
masses,  winch  were  found  near  the  surface,  and  evidently 
resulted  from  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphurets.  In  this 
extraordinary  district,  the  veins,  in  those  rocks  in  which  they 
are  most  productive,  carry  exclusively  native  copper,  with  a 
small  amount  of  native  silver  intermixed,  and  there  has  been 
no  change  observed  in  the  character  of  their  contents  at  any 
depth  which  has  yet  been  reached.  The  occurrence  of  native 
metal  characterizes  the  veins  in  that  part  of  the  trappean 
rocks  in  which  a  distinct  bedded  structure  maybe  observed; 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  conglomerate,  except  that  in  this 
latter  rock  the  quantity  of  metalliferous  matter  is  small,  and 
very  unequally  distributed  through  the  vein-stone.  In  those 
parts  of  the  Lake  Superior  district  where  the  trap  is  not  dis- 
tinctly bedded,  it  ceases  to  bear  native  metals,  but  contains  sul- 
phurets of  copper,  zinc,  lead,  &c.,  of  which  traces  only  have 
been  found  in  the  true  native  copper-bearing  veins.  Thus  in 
the  Bohemian  or  Southern  Range  of  Keweenaw  Point,  which 


KEWEENAW    POINT.  255 

appears  to  have  been  protruded  at  a  late  epoch,  and  under 
different  conditions,  and  to  have  tilted  up  the  system  of  the 
bedded  trap  and  interstratified  conglomerate  which  lies  to 
the  north,  the  veins  bear  only  sulphuret  of  copper ;  and  on 
the  north  shore,  where  the  trappean  rocks  are  most  developed 
they  appear  to  be  of  the  same  unbedded  character,  and  they 
are  traversed  by  powerful  veins  bearing  the  sulphurets  of 
copper,  zinc,  and  lead. 

In  describing  the  tnines  of  the  Lake  Superior  district,  they 
will  be  divided  into  four  groups,  each  of  which  is  character- 
ized by  its  geographical  position,  and  by  a  mode  of  occur- 
rence of  the  copper  somewhat  differing  from  that  of  the 
others,  and  peculiar  to  itself.  These  groups  are : — 

1.  Keweenaw  Point. 

2.  Isle  Eoyale. 

3.  Ontonagon. 

4.  Portage  Lake. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  particular  notice  of  the  mines  of 
each  district,  some  general  remarks  will  be  made  in  relation 
to  the  peculiar  features  of  its  geological  structure,  and  the 
occurrence  of  its  metalliferous  deposits. 


KEWEENAW   POINT   MINING    KEGION. 


This  district  embraces  a  large  number  of  mines,  some  of 
which  are  extensively  worked,  and  extends  over  a  space  of 
about  thirty-six  miles  in  length  and  two  to  three  in  breadth. 
Its  geological  features  are  strongly  marked.  From  its  eastern 
extremity  a  belt  of  metalliferous  trap  extends  through  it  in 
a  nearly  east  and  west  direction,  but  gradually  curving  in  its 
western  prolongation  towards  the  south ;  this  belt  is  made 
up  of  a  variety  of  trappean  rocks,  which  differ  from  each 
other  in  their  structure  and  in  the  character  of  their  metal- 
liferous contents.  There  are,  through  nearly  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  the  Point,  two  well-marked  ranges  of  elevations, 
known  as  the  Greenstone  Range  and  the  Southern  or  Bohe- 
mian Range.  The  former  comprises  a  line  of  bluffs  rising 
sharply  from  the  valleys  of  the  two  streams,  Eagle  River  and 
the  Montreal,  which  drain  the  district,  rising  near  its  centre, 
and  flowing  longitudinally  through  it  in  opposite  directions. 
The  greenstone  ridge  is  made  up  of  a  compact,  crystalline, 


256 


GEOLOGY  OF  KEWEENAW  POINT. 


homogeneous  trappean  rock,  analogous  to  dolerite  in  com- 
position. It  forms  a  powerful  bed,  which  has  a  thickness  of 
several  hundred  feet,  and  dips  to  the  north  at  an  angle  of 
from  20  to  30  degrees.  Its  northern  limits  are  not  sharply 
defined,  but  on  the  south  its  extent  is  well  known,  as  a 
marked  change  takes  place  in  the  character  of  the  veins  at 
this  point.  Between  this  bed  and  the  next  inferior  there  is 
a  stratum  of  conglomerate,  accompanied  by  a  thin  deposit 
which  seems  to  be  a  consolidated  volcanic  ash,  or  mud 
deposited  on  the  floor  of  the  ocean ;  beneath  these  lies  the 
great  southern  metalliferous  belt  of  Keweenaw  Point,  in 
which  numerous  mines  have  been  opened,  but  in  none  of 
which  have  the  workings  been  found  profitable  when  ex- 
tended through  the  "  slide"  or  "  cross-course,"  as  the  thin 
belt  of  conglomerate  and  trappean  ash  is  called,  into  the 
greenstone  above.  The  relative  position  of  these  beds  will 
be  seen  by  the  annexed  section  (Fig.  19),  made  at  a  point 

Fig.  19. 


c.  Bed  of  chloride  and  ashy  matter,    d.  Drift,  and  rubbish  thrown  out  of  e.    e.  Excavation 
made  by  ancient  miners,    m.  Cupriferous  stratum. 

now  known  as  the  Waterbury  Mine,  where  a  shaft  has  been 
sunk  at  a  point  where  quite  an  excavation  had  been  made 
by  the  ancient  miners  in  search  of  copper. 

The  belt  of  conglomerate,  which,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
Point,  is  30  or  40  feet  in  thickness,  gradually  thins  out  and 


GEOLOGY    OF    KEWEENAW    POINT.  257 

finally  disappears  near  the  Cliff'  Mine,  although  the  other 
and  main  features  of  the  distinction  between  the  crystalline 
and  amygdaloidal  rock  remain  as  well-defined  as  before,  and 
continue  so  for  several  miles  farther.  At  the  Eureka  Mine  the 
following  section  is  presented  between  the  greenstone  and 
amygdaloid. 

Greenstone  ;  thickness,  000  to  800  feet. 

1.  Seams  of  quartz,  irregular, 

2.  Conglomerate  of  a  red  color,  14  inches,     .... 

3.  Conglomerate  of  a  greenish-white  color,  3  inches,      .         . 

4.  Indurated  clayey  matter    containing     specks  of   copper,  3  feet> 

6  inches, 

5.  Indurated  clayey  matter,  6  inches,      .... 

6.  Trappean  ash,  7  inches, 

Amygdaloid ;  thickness  undetermined. 

The  bed  of  rock  between  the  conglomerate  and  the  green- 
stone often  contains  thin  sheets  and  particles  of  copper,  and 
the  conglomerate  itself  is  not  without  frequent  indications  of 
the  same  metal. 

To  the  south  of  this  thin  belt  of  conglomerate,  the 
amygdaloid  extends  for  from  two  to  three  miles,  but  as  it 
lies  in  the  low  ground,  occupied  by  the  valleys  of  the  Eagle 
Eiver  and  Montreal,  it  has  only  been  explored,  in  general, 
by  underground  working  in  the  mines,  nor  have  these  been 
extended  sufficiently  far  to  show  the  thickness  of  the  beds 
of  which  it  is  made  up. 

On  the  north  of  the  conglomerate  belt,  the  greenstone 
occupies  a  width  on  the  surface  of  from  a  quarter  to  half  a 
mile,  and  gradually  becomes  less  crystalline  and  compact. 
At  length,  by  an  imperceptible  change,  the  rock  is  found  to 
have  become  amygdaloidal,  resembling  what  it  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  conglomerate.  From  the  point  where  this 
change  takes  place,  to  the  appearance  of  the  first  belt  of 
sandstone,  is  a  space  of  from  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half, 
which  is  occupied  by  a  variety  of  trappean  beds,  some  of 
which  are  more  and  others  less  metalliferous ;  but,  together, 
they  constitute  the  "northern  metalliferous  amygdaloid  belt," 
in  which  several  important  mines  are  opened,  and  the  particu- 
lars of  whose  structure  will  be  noticed  under  the  description  of 

17 


258        GEOLOGY  OF  KEWEENAW  POINT. 

the  Copper  Falls  and  Phoenix  Mines.  Still  farther  to  the  north 
is  a  series  of  alternating  belts  of  amygdaloid  and  sandstone  of 
moderate  thickness,  varying  from  50  to  500  feet,  and  these 
are  succeeded  by  a  heavy  belt  of  conglomerate,  which  occu- 
pies an  extent  on  the  surface  of  nearly  a  mile.  Beyond  this 
is  still  another  bed  of  a  very  amygdaloid  rock,  of  about 
1500  feet  in  thickness,  succeeded  again  by  conglomerate, 
which  forms  the  northern  portion  of  the  point,  from  its 
extremity  as  far  west  as  Agate  Harbor. 

The  mines  of  Keweenaw  Point,  almost  without  exception, 
are  worked  on  metalliferous  deposits  which  have  all  the 
characters  of  true  veins.  They  cross  the  belts  of  rock  in  a 
direction  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  strike  of  the  forma- 
tion, and  have,  in  many  instances,  been  traced  through  beds 
of  both  the  aqueous  and  igneous  formations,  from  the 
southern  amygdaloidal  belt  across  the  greenstone,  the 
northern  metalliferous  beds,  the  alternating  beds  of  sand- 
stone and  conglomerate,  to  the  Lake  shore.  It  has  not  yet 
been  proved  by  direct  observation,  that  the  same  veins 
extend  across  to  the  southern  range,  and  there  bear  sulphu- 
rets :  as  the  valley  which  separates  the  greenstone  and  the 
porphyritic  or  southern  range,  and  which  is  underlaid  by 
the  amygdaloid,  is  too  much  covered  with  drift,  and  too  low, 
to  admit  of  the  veins  being  traced  across  it  on  the  surface. 
It  seems  probable,  however,  that  such  would  be  the  case. 
But  we  have  pretty  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  veins  do 
not  extend,  for  any  great  length,  into  the  sandstone.  Only 
one  vein  is  known  to  have  been  worked  on  both  sides  of  the 
greenstone  in  the  northern  and  southern  belts ;  this  is  the 
Copper  Falls  vein,  which  is  the  same  as  that  opened  in  the 
Northwestern  Mine.  In  their  passage  through  the  different 
belts  of  rock,  the  veins  exhibit  marked  changes  in  their 
characters.  In  the  conglomerate  their  gangues  are  mostly 
calcareous;  the  copper  is  usually  concentrated  into  large 
masses,  but  they  are  of  rare  occurrence.  In  one  case  black 
oxide  of  copper  has  been  found  in  this  rock ;  but  this  seems 
to  have  been  a  solitary  instance. 

In  the  true  copper-bearing  rock,  which  is,  as  before  re- 
marked, of  a  fine  texture,  not  too  crystalline,  and  with  occa- 


VEINS    OF    KEWEENAW   POINT.  259 

sional  amygdules  scattered  through  it,  the  veins  appear  with  \ 
a  gangue  made  up  of  quartzose  matter,  mixed  in  a  greater  ( 
or  less  degree  with  calcareous  spar  and  the  zeolitic  minerals, 
of  which  Prehnite  and  Laumonite  are  the  most  common. 
The  most  favorable  veinstone  is  one  which  contains  conside- 
rable crystallized  and  drusy  quartz,  with  Prehnite  and 
granular  carbonate  of  lime  intermixed ;  where  this  variety 
of  gangue  occurs,  copper  may  be  looked  for  with  confidence. 
Datholite,  in  one  exceptional  instance,  the  Hill  Vein,  forms  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  veinstone :  in  no  other  place  has 
it  been  found  in  this  part  of  the  district.  Many  of  the  veins 
have  a  more  or  less  brecciated  character ;  that  is,  they  appear 
to  be  made  up  in  a  considerable  degree  of  fragments  of  the 
adjoining  rocks,  cemented  together  by  the  same  veinstone 
as  occurs  in  other  veins.  Numerous  smaller  veins  or  strings 
are  made  up  almost  wholly  of  Laumonite,  and  carry  very 
little  copper.  There  are  instances  in  which  veins  with 
almost  wholly  calcareous  gangues  have  been  worked  in  the 
trap,  but  these  are  now  regarded  as  quite  worthless,  especi^ 
ally  when  the  carbonate  of  lime  is  in  the  form  of  coarsely- 
crystallized  spar.  Such  veins,  moreover,  have  not  the  course 
of  the  true  metalliferous  veins. 

The  width  of  the  productive  veins  is  usually  from  one  to 
three  feet ;  they  sometimes  widen  out  to  ten  feet  or  even  more, 
but  rarely  continue  to  hold  those  dimensions  for  any  consi- 
derable distance.  The  wider  the  vein,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
richer  it  is  in  metallic  contents. 

There  is  but  one  system  of  veins  in  this  district,  so  far  as 
has  been  ascertained,  and  they  are  remarkably  regular  in 
their  course,  which  in  the  productive  ones,  as  before  re^- 
marked,  is  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  bearing  of  the 
formation ;  when  they  pass  from  one  belt  of  rock  into  another 
of  a  different  character,  they  are  sometimes  shifted  to  one 
side  or  the  other,  for  a  few  feet,  as  if  there  had  been  a  sliding 
of  the  beds  on  each  other  after  the  formation  of  the  vein- 
fissure  ;  but  there  are  no  regular  cross-fractures,  or  counter 
lodes,  intersecting  the  main  ones  and  heaving  them,  as  in  many 
other  metalliferous  districts,  where  there  are  sets  of  fissures 
of  different  ages,  and  extensive  faults  which  interrupt  the  con- 


260         MODE    OF    OCCURRENCE    OP    THE    COPPER. 

tinuity  of  a  whole  series  of  veins  of  an  earlier  epoch.  In 
fact,  the  general  parallelism  of  the  productive  lodes  of 
Keweenaw  Point  is  one  of  their  most  marked  features,  and 
they  do  not  appear  to  have  a  tendency  to  unite  together,  and 
form  what  the  Cornish  miners  call  "  champion  lodes." 

The  dip  of  most  of  the  veins  in  this  district  is  nearly  per- 
pendicular, and  generally  pretty  regular,  the  underlay,  or 
deviation  from  a  vertical  line,  heing  rarely  more  than  8  or 
10  degrees.  The  selvages  are  usually  well  marked,  the  vein 
being  separated  from  the  wall-rock  by  a  thin  layer  of  red  clay 
or  flucan,  and  the  walls  themselves  striated  and  polished, 
sometimes  extending  for  a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  an  almost 
perfectly  straight  line. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  region  the  occurrence  of  the 
copper  in  the  veins  is  marked  by  the  same  characteristics. 
It  is  found  mixed  with  the  veinstone  in  pieces  of  every  size, 
from  almost  microscopic  particles  up  to  masses  of  from  one 
to  two  hundred  tons  in  weight.  Some  of  the  veins  carry  only 
the  former  variety,  while  in  the  most  productive  ones  heavy 
masses  are  frequently  met  with,  and  form  a  large  part  of  their 
produce.  There  are  three  heads  under  which  the  copper  is 
classed,  according  to  the  size  of  the  pieces  in  which  it  occurs. 
These  are,  mass  copper,  barrel-work,  and  stamp-work. 

1st.  Mass  copper. — Where,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  a  mass 
of  copper  is  met  with  in  the  vein  which  extends  along  for 
several  feet,  sometimes  20  or  30,  the  rock  is  stoped  away 
from  one  side  of  it,  and  it  is  then  detached  from  the  wall  on 
the  other  side  by  heavy  charges  of  powder  inserted  behind  it. 
It  is  then  divided  up  into  pieces  of  such  a  size  that  they  can 
be  drawn  by  tackle  or  otherwise  moved  to  the  shaft,  so  as  to 
be  raised  to  the  surface.  This  cutting  up  of  the  masses  is 
often  a  tedious  and  costly  process,  when  they  are  of  great 
size,  and  sometimes  requires  several  months  before  a  single 
one  is  entirely  removed  from  the  mine.  It  is  performed  by 
the  aid  of  chisels,  with  a  cutting  edge  of  about  J  of  an  inch 
in  width,  and  varying  in  length  according  to  the  thickness  of 
the  mass  to  be  divided.  Two  persons  are  required,  one  of 
whom  holds  the  chisel  and  guides  it,  moving  it  so  as  to  prevent 
its  becoming  wedged  in  the  groove,  while  the  other  strikes 


MODE    OF    OCCURRENCE    OF    THE    COPPER.          261 

it  with  a  heavy  sledge-hammer,  so  that  chips  are  gradually 
taken  out  of  a  length  equal  to  the  distance  which  is  to  he  cut 
across,  and  of  a  thickness  of  ahout  an  eighth  of  an  inch.  A 
repetition  of  this  process  at  length  completely  severs  the 
mass.  The  expense  of  this  operation  is  generally  ahout 
$6  per  square  foot  of  surface  exposed  on  one  side  of  the  cut. 
The  pieces  raised  to  the  surface  often  require  farther  subdi- 
vision, after  detaching  all  of  the  rock  and  veinstone  adhering 
to  them,  so  as  to  he  reduced  to  a  weight  not  too  great  to  he 
transported  to  the  shore  of  the  Lake.  As  thus  prepared  for 
shipment,  the  mass  copper  contains  70  or  80  per  cent,  of 
the  pure  metal,  and  sometimes  is  almost  wholly  free  from 
foreign  matter,  yielding  from  90  to  95  per  cent,  when  melted 
down  in  the  furnace. 

2d.  Barrel-work. — This  includes  the  smaller  pieces,  weigh- 
ing usually  a  few  pounds,  which  are  too  large  to  go  under  the 
stamps  and  too  small  to  he  sent  away  without  "barrelling.  In 
the  productive  mines  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  form  of 
copper  is  obtained  in  breaking  and  preparing  the  stamp-work. 
The  pieces  are  cleaned  as  well  as  possible  from  the  rock  by 
hammering,  and  as  thus  prepared  contain  60  or  70  per  cent, 
of  pure  copper. 

3d.  Stamp-work. — This  forms  a  large  part  of  all  the  veins ; 
and  each  mine  requires,  therefore,  when  fully  under  Way, 
a  set  of  stamps  of  a  number  of  heads  proportionate  to  the 
amount  of  productive  veinstone  taken  from  the  workings, 
and  the  extent  to  which  the  mine  is  expected  to  be  opened. 
The  stamp-work  is  prepared  to  go  under  the  heads  by  being 
calcined  and  broken  into  small  fragments.  For  this  purpose 
it  is  piled  on  a  layer  of  billets  of  wood,  which  are  fired,  and 
in  burning,  raise  the  heap  of  rock  upon  them  to  a  high  tem- 
perature. Care  has  to  be  taken  to  distribute  the  heat  as 
uniformly  as  possible,  and  not  to  allow  any  part  of  the  copper 
to  become  fused  and  oxidized,  as  a  loss  would  thus  ensue. 

Having  thus  noticed  some  of  the  more  general  facts  con- 
nected with  the  Keweenaw  Point  veins,  such  mines  in  that 
district  as  are  worthy  of  notice  from  the  amount  of  work 
done  upon  them  will  be  described  as  concisely  as  possible,  in 
a  geographical  order,  beginning  at  the  east  and  proceeding 


262       NORTHERN  METALLIFEROUS  BELT. 

towards  the  west ;  taking  first  those  of  the  northern  metalli- 
ferous belt,  and  then  those  south  of  the  greenstone  and  lying 
in  the  southern  helt  of  amygdaloid.* 

New  York  and  Michigan.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Sect.  12,  southwest  quarter.  A  mine 
which  had  been  worked  at  this  place  in  1846-7,  was  resumed  by  this  company 
in  1852,  at  which  time  the  shaft  was  84  feet  deep.  It  was  carried  down  to 
about  150  feet  and  then  stopped,  in  September  1853.  A  drift  was  run  off  to 
the  north  for  100  feet  or  more,  and  the  vein  found  to  be  in  some  places  20 
inches  wide ;  veinstone,  quartz  and  considerable  Prehnite,  carrying  a  small 
percentage  of  native  copper.  Four  small  masses,  weighing  about  1800  Ibs., 
were  shipped  in  1852.  The  position  of  this  vein  within  the  unproductive  belt 
of  greenstone  was  found  to  be  fatal  to  its  being  worked  with  profit,  and  up  to 
this  time  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  traced  into  the  more  productive  belt 
of  rock  to  the  north. 

Clark  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Sect.  9,  northeast  quarter.  This 
company  commenced  operations  in  the  autumn  of  1853,  on  a  vein  running 
north  10°  west,  a  foot  to  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  well  filled  with  copper.  It 
has  been  opened  at  several  points,  from  the  edge  of  the  greenstone  north- 
wards, and  found  to  be  remarkably  well-defined,  and  promising  favorably  for 
successful  working. 

Washington  Mining  Company.  Has  several  veins  in  the  vicinity  of  Mosquito 
Lake,  on  parts  of  Sections  4,  5,  8,  and  9  of  T.  59,  R.  29 ;  operations  not  yet 
commenced. 

Agate  Harbor  Mining  Company.  This  company,  which  is  not  yet  fully 
organized,  has  been  exploring  during  the  past  winter,  on  parts  of  Sections  5, 
6,  7,  and  8,  of  T.  58,  R.  29,  and  of  Sections  1  and  12  of  T.  58,  R.  30.  Several 
powerful  veins  are  represented  as  having  been  discovered,  which  have  a  course 
of  about  south  19°  east. 

On  the  adjacent  section,  11,  a  vein  has  been  opened  to  some  extent,  called 
the  "  Keliher  Vein  ;"  and  a  company  was  partially  organized  to  work  it  under 
the  name  of  the  Lake  Superior  Mining  Company,  but  no  work  has  as  yet  been 
done.  The  vein  bears  about  north  25°  west,  and  is  from  2  to  8  feet  in  width, 
averaging,  perhaps,  3  feet.  It  is  made  up  of  a  breccia  of  rock  and  veinstone, 


*  In  describing  these  mines  the  location  of  the  works  will  be  given  by  town- 
ship, range,  and  quarter  section.  The  ranges  are  numbered  westward  from  the 
principal  meridian  of  Michigan,  which  passes  through  Saut  Ste.  Marie,  and  the 
range-lines  run  north  and  south  at  a  distance  of  six  miles  from  each  other :  the 
town-lines  are  also  six  miles  apart,  but  run  east  and  west,  being  numbered  from 
the  north  towards  the  south,  commencing  at  a  base-line  drawn  from  Lake  St.  Clair 
due  west  to  Lake  Michigan.  The  townships,  bounded  by  the  town-lines  on  the 
north  and  south,  and  the  range-lines  on  the  east  and  west,  are  subdivided  into 
thirty-six  sections,  of  one  square  mile  each,  whose  numeration  begins  from  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  township ;  the  first  tier  being  counted  from  the  east  towards 
the  west,  the  second  from  the  west  to  the  east,  and  so  on  alternately. 


COPPER  FALLS  MINES.  263 

with  considerable  copper  associated  with  it,  and  has  been  opened  over  an  ex- 
tent of  2,500  feet.  It  presents  favorable  indications  for  successful  working. 
This  is  the  most  important  vein  on  the  property,  but  several  others  have  been 
found  in  the  vicinity. 

Native  Copper  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  30,  Section  10,  northeast 
quarter.  Mining  operations  have  been  carried  on  here  since  1852  ;  a  shaft  had 
been  sunk  120  feet,  and  a  cross-cut  driven,  at  10  fathoms  depth,  to  the  vein, 
on  which  a  winze  was  sinking  at  the  time  I  last  visited  the  mine  (Sept.  1853). 
The  vein  is  wide,  but  made  up  in  a  considerable  degree  of  a  breccia  of  rock 
mixed  with  argillaceous  matter,  and  not  productive  of  copper.  This  vein  bears 
a  few  degrees  west  of  north;  another,  with  a  direction  of  north  10°  to  15°  east, 
has  been  explored  to  some  extent,  and  found  marked  by  a  line  of  ancient  ex- 
cavations. 

Eagle  Harbor  Mining  Company.  This  company  has  made  some  explora- 
tions on  Section  9,  T.  58,  E.  30,  but  without  arriving  at  any  very  satisfactory 
results. 

Copper  Falls  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Section  14.  The  old  "  Copper 
Falls  Company,"  to  whose  rights  and  property  the  present  company  succeeded, 
was  formed  in  October  1845,  and  commenced  mining  on  the  vein  now  known 
as  the  "  Old  Copper  Falls  Vein,"  in  184G.  At  this  time  nothing  was  known  of 
the  geology  of  the  country,  and  the  workings  were  commenced  and  carried  on 
in  a  belt  of  trap  of  only  170  feet  in  thickness  measured  at  right  angles  to  the 
dip,  and  430  feet  across  on  the  line  of  the  adit,  enclosed  between  two  beds  of 
sandstone.  The  workings  were  continued  down  to  the  underlying  bed  of  sand- 
stone, and  a  shaft  was  sunk  through  it,  a  distance  of  53  feet.  So  long  as  the 
workings  were  in  the  trap,  the  vein  was  quite  rich,  and  one  mass  of  over  seven 
tons  in  weight  was  obtained,  as  well  as  numerous  other  small  ones.  On  enter- 
ing the  sandstone,  the  vein  contracted  rapidly  in  width,  and  became  split  up, 
so  that  it  was  not  attempted  to  follow  it;  but  the  shaft  was  sunk  perpendicularly 
through  the  sandstone,  and  then  cross-cuts  were  driven  in  each  direction  for  a 
distance  of  40  feet,  without  recognizing  the  lode.  This,  however,  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  evidence  that  the  fissure  does  not  extend  through  the  sandstone,  the 
cross-cuts  having  been  driven  too  near  the  junction  of  the  two  rocks,  where  it  would 
have  been  most  disordered.  The  same  vein  has  since  been  traced  on  the  sur- 
face for  a  considerable  distance,  to  the  south  of  all  the  belts  of  sandstone.* 
From  this  mine  copper  to  the  amount  of  $15,000  in  value  was  taken,  and 
$100,000  expended  in  mining  and  surface  improvements,  including  $11,060  97 
paid  for  the  lease.f  The  Directors  remark,  in  regard  to  this  work,  as  follows : 
"  With  the  present  mining  experience  on  Lake  Superior,  a  mine  would  not  be 
commenced  in  a  belt  of  trap  of  so  little  thickness  as  that  in  which  all  the 
works  which  have  been  described  were  situated.  It  should  be  remembered, 
however,  that  these  mining  operations  were  among  the  earliest  undertaken  on 


*  See  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report,  Part  I.  p.  136,  where  a  section  of  the  old 
mine  will  be  found. 

f  Third  Annual  Report  of  Directors,  Boston,  1852. 


264  COPPER  FALLS  MINES. 

Lake  Superior :  that  they  were  begun  at  a  time  when  there  were  but  few  in- 
habitants in  the  country,  .  .  .  and,  what  is  of  more  importance  than  all 
the  rest,  when  hardly  anything  was  known  of  the  geology  of  the  country." 

In  order  to  remedy  this  error,  Mr.  S.  W.  Hill,  who  had  been  recently  con- 
nected with  the  Geological  Survey  of  the  Lake  Superior  Land  District,  was 
selected  to  make  a  thorough  geological  examination  of  the  location,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  explorations,  several  veins  were  discovered  to  the  south  of  all  the 
belts  of  sandstone,  in  the  great  northern  metalliferous  belt  of  amygdaloid.  Two 
of  these  veins  only  have,  up  to  the  present  time,  been  worked  to  any  extent. 
These  are  the  Copper  Falls  and  Hill  Veins,  so  called.  On  the  former  vein, 
mining  was  commenced  in  December  1850,  and  has  been  continued  uninter- 
ruptedly since  that  time.  The  Hill  Vein  was  opened  about  a  year  later. 

The  several  veins  on  this  location  are  nearly  parallel  with  each  other,  their 
course  being  north  22°  to  25°  west.  They  have,  in  almost  every  case,  been 
traced  across  the  whole  width  of  the  belt  of  trap  north  of  the  greenstone,  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  a  mile. 

The  Copper  Falls  Vein  is  opened  by  an  adit  of  1250  feet  in  length  to  shaft 
No.  1,  where  it  strikes  the  vein,  at  a  depth  of  200  feet  below  the  surface,  and 
is  continued  on  it  to  the  next  shaft  south,  a  distance  of  750  feet.  There  are 
seven  shafts,  extended  along  a  line  of  about  2350  feet  in  length,  the  deepest  of 
which  (shaft  No.  1)  is  down  to  about  12  fathoms  below  the  adit. 

The  Hill  Mine,  upon  the  vein  of  that  name,  is  opened  upon  the  most  exten- 
sive plan  of  any  mine  in  the  Lake  Superior  region.  The  deep  adit  starts  from 
a  point  only  about  50  feet  above  the  level  of  Lake  Superior,  and  is  driven  on 
the  vein,  and  will  drain  it  at  the  present  principal  working  shaft  (No.  4)  at  a 
depth  of  520  feet,  and  at  No.  7  at  700  feet  below  the  surface.  There  are  seven 
shafts  opened,  in  all,  and  the  deepest  (No.  4)  is  now  down  about  200  feet.  The 
deep  adit  must  be  driven  2320  feet  to  intercept  Shaft  No.  1,  to  the  south  of 
which  there  is  a  length  of  over  6400  feet  on  the  vein,  within  the  metalliferous 
formation. 

The  veinstone  of  the  Copper  Falls  Vein  contains  considerable  quartz  and 
calcareous  spar,  a  good  deal  mixed  with  argillaceous  matter  near  the  surface, 
but  becoming  finer  and  less  mixed  with  rock-breccia  in  descending.  The  most 
abundant  accidental  minerals  observed  in  this  vein  are  analcime,  often  beauti- 
fully crystallized,  and  Leonhardite,  a  variety  of  Laumonite.  The  Hill  vein, 
where  it  is  richest  and  widest,  contains  a  good  deal  of  datholite,  in  addition 
to  the  other  usual  minerals.  This  vein  sometimes  widens  out  to  several  feet, 
and  is  then  almost  always  much  richer  than  when  narrow.  Both  these  veins 
are  not  uniformly  productive  throughout  their  whole  extent,  but  show  alternate 
belts  of  rich  and  poor  ground,  which  dip,  with  the  formation,  about  26°  to  the 
north.  In  working  the  mines  great  attention  should  be  paid  to  this  fact,  so 
that  as  little  money  as  possible  should  be  sunk  in  opening  the  unproductive 
ground. 

In  these  mines  a  remarkable  feature  has  been  discovered  during  the  past 
winter,  which  is  unlike  anything  yet  noticed  on  Point  Keweenaw.*  This  is 


*  S.  W.  Hill's  Report,  dated  March  1,  1854. 


COPPER  FALLS  MINES.  265 

the  occurrence  of  a  metalliferous  bed  included  in  the  formation  and  parallel 
with  it.  This  stratum,  which  has  been  intersected  in  the  works  of  both  mines, 
is  about  100  feet  thick  ;  and  between  it  and  the  overlying  bed,  a  bluish  granular 
trap,  there  has  been  a  movement  or  sliding,  so  as  to  produce  a  fissure  along 
the  line  of  contact,  which  is  filled  with  veinstone.  This  east  and  west  vein  is 
distinctly  marked  on  the  surface  at  the  Copper  Falls  Mine,  where  it  contains 
small  bunches  of  copper.  Underlying  it  is  the  bed  of  volcanic  ash,  as  it  is 
considered  by  Mr.  Hill,  which  is  of  a  brownish  color,  quite  soft,  and  every- 
where filled  with  copper.  From  it  sheets  and  lumps  of  pure  copper  have  been 
taken,  from  a  few  ounces  up  to  twenty  or  thirty  pounds  in  weight.  Near  the 
Copper  Falls  Mine  there  are  extensive  ancient  workings  on  this  metalliferous 
belt.  In  the  Hill  Mine,  where  it  is  thinner  than  in  the  Copper  Falls  Mine,  it 
contains  an  intercalated  bed  of  sandstone  18  inches  thick,  which  carries 
enough  copper  to  be  excellent  stamp-work.  Mr.  Hill  remarks  of  this  cupri- 
ferous belt  as  follows  :  "  By  some  it  is  believed  that  it  contains  1  per  cent,  of 
copper,  but  by  others  it  is  thought  to  be  much  richer.  It  is  perfectly  clear, 
from  what  can  now  be  seen  of  it,  that  many  thousand  tons  of  mixed  rock  and 
copper  will  be  taken  from  it  in  opening  the  mines.  It  will  require  no  calcining 
to  stamp  and  wash  easily,  and  can  be  cheaply  excavated.  So  little  has  been 
done  in  testing  the  value  of  the  bed  in  question,  that  great  caution  should  be 
observed  in  giving  an  opinion  in  regard  to  it ;  but  metalliferous  beds  have 
been,  and  are  now,  mined  in  the  Ontonagon  district  with  some  success,  and  on 
Portage  Lake  with  prospects  decidedly  flattering." 

From  Mr.  Hill's  Report,  dated  March  1st,  1854,  we  learn  that  up  to  that 
date,  in  both  mines,  543  fathoms  of  vein  had  been  stoped,  which  yielded 
469,863  Ibs.  of  70  per  cent,  stuff,  equal  to  865  Ibs.  of  pure  copper  per 
fathom.  Some  parts  of  the  ground  stoped  in  the  Hill  Mine  have  yielded  more 
than  one  ton  per  fathom.  The  amount  of  stoping  ground,  open  in  both  mines, 
at  the  same  time,  was  over  4,000  fathoms  of  productive  ground,  besides  7,000 
not  considered  worth  removing. 

During  the  past  year,  a  steam-engine  and  stamps  have  been  erected,  and 
are  now  nearly  ready  to  go  into  operation,  all  the  copper  thus  far  shipped  from 
this  mine  having  been  in  masses  and  barrel-work.  The  engine  is  of  six  feet 
stroke,  and  eighteen  inches  diameter  of  cylinder.  It  is  calculated  to  drive 
forty-eight  stamp-heads,  of  which  twenty-four  are  intended  to  be  put  in  use 
immediately. 

From  the  various  Reports  of  the  officers  of  this  company,  it  appears  that 
for  the  year  ending  March  1st,  1854,  the  average  cost  of  sinking  the  shafts 
was  $14  04  per  foot;  that  of  driving  the  levels,  $5  44;  and  of  stoping,  per 
fathom,  $14  26. 

The  sum  of  $180,000  has  been  paid  in  on  assessments  on  the  stock  of  this 
company,  and  $37,000  received  from  sales  of  copper,  which,  together,  are 
expected  to  prove  sufficient  to  put  the  mines  in  a  paying  condition.  The  ship- 
ments of  copper  have  been  as  follows  : — 


266  PHCENIX    MINE. 

1852.  1853. 

Weight  of  barrel-work, 13.006  Ibs.  42,113  Ibs. 

«  masses, 4,662    «  96,407   « 

Amount  pure  copper  produced,      ....    12,651    "  91,737   " 

Percentage  yield, 72    "  64  " 

The  shipments  for  1854  are  expected  to  reach  400  tons. 

Hutnboldt  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Section  21.  This  company 
was  organized,  and  commenced  explorations,  in  the  summer  of  1853,  on  a 
tract  of  land  situated  between  the  Copper  Falls  and  Phoenix  locations.  Seve- 
ral veins  have  been  discovered,  but  not  opened  as  yet  to  a  sufficient  extent  to 
make  it  possible  to  decide  upon  their  value. 

Meadow  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Sec.  20,  northeast  quarter.  This 
Company  was  organized  in  1853,  and  is  engaged  in  working  several  veins, 
which  have  a  course  of  north  28°  west.  According  to  Mr.  Kelsey,  the  superin- 
tendent, there  are  four  veins  :  the  principal  mine,  at  present,  is  opening  in  the 
most  eastern,  the  "  Kelsey"  vein.  An  adit  has  been  driven  on  a  branch  of  the 
lode  for  293  feet,  and  there  intersects  shaft  No.  1,  at  a  depth  of  38  feet.  Shaft 
No.  2  is  287  feet  farther  south.  The  vein  is  said  to  average  two  feet  in  width, 
and  to  be  well  filled  with  copper. 

Pluxnix  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Sec.  19,  southeast  quarter.  This 
company,  as  originally  constituted  February  22,  1844,  was  possessed  of  seven 
three  mile  square  leases  on  Keweeuaw  Point.  It  was  the  first  organized  com- 
pany of  the  Lake  Superior  region,  and  was  called  the  "  Lake  Superior  Copper 
Company."  Its  stock  was  divided  into  1200  shares,  of  which  the  proprietors 
of  the  leases  received  400  unassessable  for  their  interest.  The  first  superin- 
tendent was  C.  H.  Gratiot,  who  had  been  previously  engaged  in  digging  lead 
in  Wisconsin.  The  seven  locations,  embracing  over  40  square  miles,  were 
nearly  all  situated  in  the  very  richest  portion  of  the  mineral  region. 

During  the  summer  of  1844,  Dr.  C.  T.  Jackson  examined  several  veins 
which  had  been  discovered  on  the  property  by  C.  C.  Douglass  and  others,  and 
under  his  direction  work  was  commenced  October  22,  1844,  on  Eagle  River, 
near  the  place  now  known  as  the  "  Old  Phoenix  Mine,"  and  carried  on  through 
the  year  1845,  and  a  stamping  mill  and  crushing-wheels,  of  a  kind  suitable  for 
grinding  drugs,  were  erected,  but  soon  proved  to  be  entirely  unserviceable.  Up 
to  March  31,  1849,  when  the  Phoenix  Company  was  organized  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  Lake  Superior  Company's  property,  the  latter  company  had  ex- 
pended $105,833  40,  of  which  about  half  was  probably  for  actual  mining  work, 
but  they  had  done  little  or  nothing  towards  developing  the  value  of  the  pro- 
perty. The  principal  shaft  was  sunk  on  a  "  pocket"  of  copper  and  silver, 
without  any  signs  of  a  regular  vein,  which  soon  gave  out  entirely.  In  1846,  after 
this  fact  had  been  ascertained,  a  drift  was  run  off  from  the  shaft,  at  the  depth 
of  90  feet,  towards  the  river,  to  find  a  vein,  and  directly  under  the  river  the 
workmen  came  upon  a  crevice,  evidently  worn  out  by  the  stream  and  after- 
wards filled  up  with  gravel  and  water-worn  accumulations.  In  this  old  channel, 
workings  were  carried  on  for  some  time  in  search  of  a  vein  which  once  had 
occupied  the  space  excavated  by  the  river,  and  a  large  pot-hole  was  discovered 
filled  with  rounded  pieces  of  native  copper  and  silver  in  considerable  quantity. 


SOUTHERN    METALLIFEROUS    BELT.  267 

From  this  pot-hole  principally,  and  from  the  washing  of  the  gravel  taken  out 
of  the  other  excavations,  18,000  Ibs.  of  nearly  pure  copper  were  obtained,  be- 
sides considerable  silver,  most  of  which  was  stolen  by  the  miners ;  but  one 
piece  weighing  96'8  ounces  troy  came  into  the  company's  possession.  Finally 
the  vein  itself  was  struck,  and  sunk  upon  for  about  90  feet;  and  in  that  state 
the  works  were,  when  they  were  suspended,  and  not  resumed  until  the  Phcenix 
Company  commenced  operations,  in  the  fall  of  1850.  Mining  on  the  vein  dis- 
covered under  the  river,  and  now  called  the  Phcenix  vein,  was  carried  on  from 
the  spring  of  1851  to  1st  March,  1853,  and  resulted  in  demonstrating  the  fact 
that  it  was  too  poor  to  be  worked  with  profit,  at  least  in  that  part  of  its  course. 
The  principal  shaft  was  sunk  to  the  depth  of  about  264  feet,  and  three  levels 
driven  between  five  and  six  hundred  feet.  The  vein  was  found  to  be  very  re- 
gular, but  too  narrow  for  working,  being  usually  but  a  few  inches  wide  ;  towards 
the  river  it  was  wider  and  richer,  but  the  influx  of  water  from  that  part  of  the 
mine  made  it  necessary  that  those  workings  should  be  dammed  up.  The  vein- 
stone consisted  of  calc.  spar  with  jaspery  and  argillaceous  matter,  and  contained 
copper  disseminated  through  it  in  fine  particles,  and  masses  up  to  1200  Ibs. 
weight,  with  considerable  silver ;  but,  as  before  remarked,  it  was  too  narrow,  and 
since  the  abandonment  of  the  mine  the  efforts  of  the  company  have  been  very 
properly  directed  to  exploring  the  vein  in  longitudinal  extent,  it  being  now 
a  well-ascertained  fact  that  the  same  vein  may  be  too  poor  to  be  worth  work- 
ing in  one  belt  of  rock,  while  in  another  more  congenial  it  may  be  rich  in 
copper. 

Besides  the  Phcenix,  three  other  veins  have  been  worked  to  some  extent  by 
this  company.  On  the  Armstrong  vein  a  shaft  was  sunk  110  feet  and  a  level 
driven  400  ;  but  it  is  poor  in  copper;  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Ward  vein, 
on  which  a  shaft  was  sunk  75  feet.  The  N"ew  Phcenix  vein  is  situated  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  Section  19.  From  it  a  mass  of  copper  weighing  2,390  Ibs. 
was  taken  almost  at  the  surface. 

The  shipments  of  this  company  amounted  in  1852  to  a  little  over  13  tons, 
and  in  1853  to  5,729  Ibs.  The  entire  amount  expended  here  cannot  fall  much 
short  of  $200,000.  Hardly  a  location  on  Lake  Superior  shows  more  abundant 
indications  of  copper,  and  there  seems  still  good  reason  to  suppose  that  some 
one  of  the  numerous  veins  upon  it  will  be  found  capable  of  being  profitably 
worked  in  some  one  of  the  belts  of  rock  which  it  traverses. 

Having  thus  briefly  noticed  the  principal  mines  working 
on  the  northern  metalliferous  belt  of  Keweenaw  Point,  we 
will  next  take  up  those  which  are  situated  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  greenstone  bluffs.  They  have  in  all  cases  quite  a 
similar  position,  which  is  one  presenting  great  facilities  for 
working.  In  no  case  have  they  been  worked  to  any  extent 
in  the  greenstone ;  but  they  have  been  found  fully  as  produc- 
tive as  anywhere  else,  if  not  more  so,  close  up  to  the  con- 


268  AMINES    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    BELT. 

glomerate  belt  which  divides  the  amygdaloid  from  the  green- 
stone. In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Cliff  Mine,  the  position 
of  the  rocks  is  such  that  no  considerable  part  of  the  pro- 
ductive portion  of  the  vein  can  be  drained  by  an  adit  level. 
Towards  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Point,  the  amygdaloid 
rises,  so  that  at  some  of  the  mines  in  that  vicinity  from  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  feet  of  back  can  be  had  above  the 
adit  level.  Frequently  the  amygdaloidal  rocks  are  so  covered 
by  drift,  that  the  veins  can  only  be  discovered  by  tracing 
them  down  from  the  greenstone,  and  opening  shode-pits  on 
their  supposed  course.  Hence  it  was,  that  so  many  ineffectual 
attempts  were  made  to  mine  in  the  greenstone,  conglomerate, 
and  other  rocks  which  are  more  easily  explored  on  account 
of  their  elevated  and  exposed  situation. 

Keweenaw  Point  Copper  and  Silver  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Section 
13,  southwest  quarter.  A  company  formed  in  England  to  work  the  veins 
on  the  property  previously  known  as  the  "  New  Lac  la  Belle."  Working  was 
commenced  last  autumn,  but  has  not  yet  been  prosecuted  to  sufficient  extent 
to  develop  the  veins,  which  are  four  or  five  in  number.  The  location  was  visited 
and  repoi'ted  on  favorably  by  Mr.  De  Bussy,  of  London,  in  1853. 

Star  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Section  9,  east  half.  At  the  old 
workings,  two  shafts  were  sunk  to  the  depth  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet,  and  then 
abandoned.  There  were  two  veins,  which  were  supposed  to  unite  at  a  distance 
of  about  three  hundred  feet  farther  south.  Near  the  supposed  point  of  junction 
a  shaft  was  sunk  one  hundred  and  six  feet  in  depth,  but  afterwards  discontinued. 
During  the  summer  of  1853  a  new  vein  was  discovered,  about  one-third  of  a 
mile  east  of  the  old  mine,  running  about  north  10°  or  15°  west.  It  had  not 
been  opened  sufficiently,  at  the  time  I  saw  it,  to  enable  me  to  form  an  opinion 
of  its  value ;  but  it  is  said  to  be  promising  well. 

Manitou  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Section  8,  southwest  quarter.  "Work 
was  commenced  here  in  the  autumn  of  1852.  There  are  two  veins.  The 
eastern  one  had  been  opened  at  several  points  on  the  face  of  the  hill,  which 
rises  perhaps  two  hundred  feet  from  the  valley  to  the  greenstone  on  the  north. 
In  the  drift  near  the  base  of  the  hill,  which  had  been  carried  in  two  hundred 
feet  last  September,  the  vein  was  poor  at  the  entrance,  but  widened  out  and 
improved  in  character  towards  the  end,  showing  several  inches  of  good  vein- 
stone, well  filled  with  copper.  No.  2  vein,  forty  rods  west  of  the  one  just 
described,  is  wide,  but  somewhat  intermixed  with  rock ;  clear  veinstone  two  or 
three  inches  wide  on  foot-wall.  The  vein  is  well-defined,  but  poor  in  copper. 

Cape  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Section  7,  southwest  quarter.  A  shaft 
has  been  sunk  on  the  west  vein  150  feet,  and  levels  extended  both  ways  at  90 
and  150  feet.  From  the  lower  level  there  is  a  cross-cut  84  feet  to  the  east 
vein ;  there  are  numerous  bunches  and  strings  of  zeolitic  minerals  and  quartz, 


NORTHWEST    MINE.  269 

containing  lumps  of  copper  of  considerable  size,  but  no  regular  well-defined 
vein,  so  far  as  I  could  observe.  South  of  the  adit,  the  rock  is  a  brecciated 
mass  of  trap,  very  amygdaloidal  and  much  mixed  with  sandy  matter  resembling 
indurated  clay,  as  if  the  beds  had  been  broken  up  and  the  interstices  filled 
with  mud,  which  afterwards  became  consolidated. 

Iron  City  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  29,  Section  14,  northeast  quarter. 
Much  money  has  been  wasted  here  on  an  unproductive,  barren  calc.  spar 
vein.  Two  shafts  have  been  sunk,  at  a  distance  of  257  feet  apart,  and  con- 
nected by  levels.  Shaft  No.  1  is  288  feet  deep.  The  vein  is  wide  and  regular, 
but  entirely  barren  of  copper ;  the  gangue  being  calc.  spar  cleaving  into  large 
rhombohedral  pieces,  and  hence  called  by  the  miners  "block-spar."  This 
kind  of  veinstone,  in  the  trappean  rocks  of  Lake  Superior,  when  unmixed  with 
quartz  and  the  zeolitic  minerals,  seems  to  be  always  unaccompanied  by  copper. 
The  work  has  been  abandoned,  and  ought  never  to  be  resumed.  On  the  south 
half  of  section  11,  968  and  1368  feet  north  of  the  south  line  of  the  section,  two 
shafts  have  been  sunk  to  the  depth  of  60  or  70  feet  on  a  narrow  vein  carrying 
some  copper.  The  rock  is  the  crystalline  trap,  or  greenstone,  and  is  coarse- 
grained and  crystalline.  Farther  north,  beyond  the  limits  of  this  unproductive 
rock,  the  vein  may  be  found  of  some  value. 

Bluff  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  29,  Section  15,  northwest  quarter.  This 
company  is  engaged  in  working  a  very  regular  and  well-defined  vein,  which 
varies  from  a  few  inches  to  eighteen  in  width.  In  August  1853,  the  principal 
shaft  (No.  2)  had  been  sunk  about  159  feet.  From  it  two  levels  have  been 
driven  to  the  north  about  260  feet,  at  the  depth  of  50  and  114  feet  respectively. 
In  the  excavations  already  made,  the  vein  is  usually  too  poor  to  pay  for  work- 
ing, although  it  has  produced  some  good  stamp-work  and  a  few  small  pieces  of 
copper.  There  is  a  space  of  some  600  or  700  feet,  between  the  end  of  the 
present  drifts  and  the  conglomerate,  to  the  north,  which  may  prove  a  more 
congenial  ground,  and  should  be  carefully  explored  by  sinking  or  driving  upon 
the  vein  in  that  part  of  its  course. 

Northwest  Mining  Company  of  Michigan.  T.  58,  R.  30,  Section  15.  This 
company  was  incorporated  and  organized  in  1849,  and  took  the  place  of  an 
association  called  the  "  Northwest  Copper  Mining  Company,"  which  had  been 
working  in  a  small  way  since  1847.  Mining  on  an  enlarged  scale  was  com- 
menced in  1849,  and  has  since  been  continued,  until  the  works  have  become 
so  extensive  as  to  be  exceeded  by  few  in  the  region. 

Three  veins  have  been  opened  near  the  centre  of  Section  15,  two  of  them 
quite  extensively.  They  are  called  the  Stoutenburgh,  Hogan,  and  Kelly 
veins ;  but  the  latter  has  not  been  worked  to  a  sufficient  extent  to  be  worthy 
of  notice.  The  principal  mine  is  on  the  Stoutenburgh  vein.  This  has  a 
course  of  north  16£°  east.  The  Hogan  runs  north  19°  west;  and  the  two 
would  intersect  at  a  point  320  feet  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  adit-level  on  the 
Stoutenburgh,  according  to  their  courses  as  thus  stated.  The  third,  or  Kelly 
vein,  has  a  course  nearly  parallel  with  that  of  the  Hogan,  but  is  not  very  well 
defined  or  of  much  importance. 

The  Stoutenburgh  Vein  has  been  opened  by  four  shafts,  as  will  be  seen  by 


N  0  E  T II W  E  S  T    MINE. 


271 


barrel-work,  as  well  as  good  stamp-work.  In  the  ten-fathom  level,  the  vein 
was  from  10  to  12  inches  wide,  but  it  is  now  represented  as  being  18  inches 
wide  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  and  well  filled  with  copper. 


Fig 


Section  of  Hogan  Mine,  March  1854. 

From  the  forty-fathom  level  in  the  Stoutenburgh  Mine  a  cross-cut  was 
driven  west  for  some  distance,  in  the  expectation  of  intersecting  a  vein  which 
was  formerly  opened  on  the  surface,  and  called  the  Clark  vein,  but  it  has  not 
been  found  below. 

There  are  two  steam-engines  in  operation  at  the  mine.  One,  of  17  inch 
cylinder  and  5  foot  stroke,  winds  and  pumps  at  D  shaft.  The  other,  of  12  inch 
cylinder  and  4  foot  stroke,  is  used  for  driving  the  stamps.  The  following 
returns  of  the  amount  of  rock  stamped,  and  its  yield  of  copper,  for  three 
months,  in  1853,  furnished  by  William  Petherick,  Esq.,  former  superintendent 
of  these  mines,  will  be  read  with  interest,  as  this  is  the  only  instance  on  the 
Lake  where  accurate  and  reliable  accounts  have  been  kept  of  the  operations 
of  the  stamps. 


1853. 
April, 
May, 
June, 


Rock  stamped. 
.    440  tons. 
.    505 
.    506 

1,451 


Yield  of  copper. 
12,194  Ibs. 
13,996 
13,503 


Percentage. 
1-38 
1-38 
1-25 


39,693 


Copper  in  ton  of  rock. 

27-7 
27-7 
26-6 

27'41bs. 


The  following  statement  shows  the  actual  cost  of  raising  the  stamp-work 
from  the  mine,  after  the  ground  has  been  laid  open  for  stoping,  and  of  all 
the  operations  necessary  for  preparing  the  copper  for  market,  for  the  above 
three  months : — 

Per  Ton. 

Stoping, $2  00 

Filling,  landing,  and  wheeling, 26 

Tramming  to  kiln, 06£ 

Burning,  including  wood  and  labor, 35 


Dressing, 

Steam-engine  and  labor  at  stamps, 
Miscellaneous  charges,  carpenter,  smith,  &c., 


76 
30 

$4  42 


272  WATERBURY    MINE. 

The  value  of  the  copper  produced  is  reckoned  at  30  cents  per  pound,  and 
the  stamp-work  is  estimated  to  yield  90  per  cent,  of  pure  metal,  making  27 
cents  per  pound  value  of  the  stuff  shipped,  less  f  cent  for  freight  and  smelting ; 
there  remains  as  the 

Actual  value  of  the  copper  produced  from  1  ton  of  rock, $6  97 

Expenses  as  above 4  42 

Profit  per  ton, $2  55 

The  returns  of  a  shipment  in  1853  of  106,903  Ibs.,  smelted  by  J.  G.  Hussey 
&  Co.,  at  Pittsburgh,  which  was  estimated  to  consist  of  57  per  cent,  of  mass 
copper  and  barrel-work,  and  43  of  stamp-stuff,  gave  as  the  yield  of  the  dif- 
ferent varieties,  as  follows  :  Mass,  73 ;  barrel- work,  68 ;  No.  1  stamp-work, 
92 ;  No.  2  stamp-work,  59  per  cent,  of  metallic  copper.  The  proportion  of 
No.  1  stamp-work  to  No.  2,  was  77  of  the  former  to  23  of  the  latter. 

The  following  tabular  statement  of  the  yield  of  both  mines,  the  Hogan  and 
Stoutenburgh,  has  been  compiled  from  the  printed  reports  of  the  company, 
and  from  information  furnished  by  the  secretary,  John  Fausset,  Esq. : — 

Year.  Amount  shipped.    Copper  produced.    Percentage.     Value.       Expended. 

1849, .  . 

1850,.  . 

1851,.  . 

1852, .  . 

1853,.  . 

The  whole  produce  of  metallic  copper,  per  fathom  of  vein  removed,  in  the 
workings  of  both  mines,  is,  approximately,  225  Ibs. 

The  company  own  a  very  extensive  tract  of  land,  extending  for  three  miles 
along  the  southern  metalliferous  belt,  and  occupying  4320  acres,  a  large  part 
of  which  yet  remains  comparatively  unexplored.  A  new  vein  was  discovered 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  present  mine  during  the  last  summer, 
and  has  been  opened  during  the  winter,  with  what  success  I  am  not  informed. 

Connecticut  Mining  Company.  This  company  has  made  some  explorations 
on  Section  16,  next  west  of  the  Northwest  location,  and  several  veins  have  been 
discovered  ;  none  of  them  had  been  opened  last  summer  to  any  extent. 

Waterbury  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  30,  Sec.  17,  southeast  quarter.  By 
referring  to  figure  19,  on  page  256,  the  geological  position  of  this  mine  will  be 
seen.  It  is  opened  in  c,  a  chloritic  mass,  interposed  between  the  conglome- 
rate and  the  greenstone,  which  contains  thin  sheets  and  spangles  of  native 
copper  scattered  through  it,  and  especially  concentrated  along  its  planes  of 
contact  with  the  rocks  lying  below  and  above.  Two  shafts  have  been  sunk, 
each  about  100  feet  deep,  going  down  upon  the  conglomerate,  which  dips  at 
an  angle  of  about  25°.  A  drift  was  also  commenced  between  the  shafts.  This 
bed  has  not  been  found  to  contain  copper  enough  to  be  worth  working,  and  it 
is  not  probable  that  it  will  grow  richer  in  depth ;  as  deposits  of  this  kind,  which 
were  formerly  opened  to  some  extent  in  the  Porcupine  Mountains,  only  grew 
poorer  as  they  were  worked  downwards. 


44,196  Ibs. 

34,322  Ibs. 

77-7 

$5,672  71      $12,321  51 

270,873 

195,020 

72- 

35,786  66        39,906  88 

434,993 

293,199 

67-5 

53.360  46        79,696  78 

380,429 

269.174 

70-7 

53,071  58        74.983  06 

304,223 

229,077 

75-3 

SUMMIT  —  DANA  —  NORTHWESTERN.  273 

At  several  other  mines  along  the  southern  edge  of  the  greenstone,  this  layer 
of  cupriferous  rock,  commonly  known  as  the  "  Waterbury  Vein,"  has  been  in- 
tersected»by  pushing  the  levels  to  the  north ;  but  I  know  of  no  instance  in 
which  any  considerable  amount  of  copper  has  been  met  with.  There  is  no 
reason  a  priori  why  masses  should  not  be  found  at  the  contact  of  the  con- 
glomerate and  the  greenstone ;  but  this  does  not  seem  to  be  the  mode  of 
occurrence  of  this  metal  on  Keweenaw  Point. 

Summit  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  30,  Section  19,  west  half.  This 
company  was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1852-3,  and  commenced  operations 
early  in  the  latter  year.  Two  veins  had  been  opened  to  some  extent  in  Sep- 
tember 1853.  The  western  vein,  No.  1,  underlays  to  the  east,  and  is  from  1 
to  2J  feet  wide.  A  shaft  had  been  sunk  upon  it  to  the  depth  of  85  feet.  The 
veinstone  is  chloride,  with  Prehnite  and  quartz,  containing  some  copper. 
Vein  No.  2  is  about  200  feet  farther  east,  and  was  opened  to  the  depth  of  50 
feet.  It  appears  to  underlay  towards  No.  1,  so  that  the  two  will  probably 
unite  at  no  great  depth.  The  gangue  of  these  two  veins  is  similar,  being  much 
mixed  with  Avhat  appears  to  be  chlorite ;  the  east  vein,  however,  is  more  brec- 
ciated  and  argillaceous  in  its  composition,  resembling  the  Copper  Falls  Vein. 
It  is  well  filled  with  copper,  in  fine  particles  and  small  lumps. 

Dana  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Sect.  24,  northeast  quarter.  This 
mine  was  first  opened  in  April  1851,  although  but  little  work  was  done  pre- 
vious to  1852.  In  that  year  one  of  the  principal  veins,  No.  1,  was  opened  by 
three  shafts,  and  an  adit-level  driven  for  about  270  feet  on  the  vein.  Shaft 
No.  1  was  sunk  30  feet  below  the  10  fathom  level ;  No.  2  was  carried  a  few 
feet  below  the  adit;  No.  3,  near  the  conglomerate,  was  just  commenced.  At 
the  surface  the  vein  was  from  18  to  20  inches  wide  and  well  charged  with  fine 
copper  and  some  barrel-work;  but  as  it  seemed,  according  to  the  Superinten- 
dent, Mr.  S.  W.  Hill,  to  grow  poor  in  depth,  it  was  abandoned  in  1853.  During 
the  past  winter,  another  vein  has  been  opened  and  worked  on  to  some  extent, 
with  favorable  results,  as  is  reported.  The  "  Old  Copper  Falls  Vein"  must 
cross  this  location  at  some  point,  and  explorations  were  directed  to  finding  it 
last  summer,  but  at  the  time  of  my  last  visit  had  not  been  successful.  The 
veins  appear  to  become  split  up  and  barren  of  copper  as  they  pass  from  the 
amygdaloid  into  the  greenstone,  and  their  continuity  is  often  interrupted  by  a 
slide  or  heave  to  one  side  or  the  other.  Towards  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
Point  their  courses  seem,  to  suffer  a  permanent  deflection  at  the  junction  of 
these  two  rocks.  Hence  they  have  but  rarely  been  traced  across  the  green- 
stone, and  discoveries  are  usually  made  quite  independently  in  the  metalliferous 
belts  on  each  side  of  it. 

Northwestern  Mining  Company  of  Detroit.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Sect.  24,  west 
half.  Organized  in  1845,  under  the  name  of  the  "Northwestern  Mining  Com- 
pany ;"  reorganized  in  1848,  under  the  above  name.  The  land  owned  by  the 
company  formed  a  part  of  one  of  the  leases  originally  granted  to  the  "  Lake 
Superior  Company."  Mining  operations  were  commenced  in  1845,  but  only  a 
small  force  was  employed  during  the  first  two  years.  The  workings  have  been 
hitherto  confined  to  one  vein,  which  is  the  same  one  wrought  in  the  Copper 

18 


274 


NORTHWESTERN    MINE. 


Adit. 


Falls  Mine,  affording  the  only  instance  thus  far  known  in  the  Keweenaw  Point 

district  of  a  vein  extensively  worked 
on  both  sides  of  the  belt  pf  crystal- 
line trap  which  extends  through  the 
region.  The  annexed  section  (Fig. 
21),  will  convey  an  idea  of  the  ex- 
tent of  the  workings,  in  February 
1854.  The  gangue  of  this  vein  is 
a  light-colored  quartzose  material, 
mixed  with  chlorite  ;  and  it  is 
characterized  by  an  abundance  of 
crystallized  analcime,  in  both  mines 
which  are  worked  upon  it,  but  the 
specimens  found  in  the  Northwes- 
tern Mine  are  particularly  fine.  It 
is  associated  with  delicate  crystal- 
lizations of  reddish  feldspar.  The 
width  of  the  lode  is  quite  variable, 
and  when  it  is  widest  it  is  much  the 
richest  in  copper.  At  the  surface 
its  appearance  was  not  very  favora- 
ble ;  and  it  has  required  no  little 
energy  on  the  part  of  the  Direc- 
tors, and  the  Superintendent,  John 
Slawson,  Esq.,  to  carry  forward  the 
work.  The  vein,  however,  has  con- 
tinued to  improve  in  depth,  and  in 
some  parts  of  the  mine  it  now  ap- 
pears wide  and  rich. 

From  a  letter  of  the  Superinten- 
dent, dated  February  28,  1854,  I 
learn  that  the  average  width  of  the 
vein  in  all  the  parts  of  the  mine 
now  working,  is  three  feet  5  in  the 
twenty-fathom  level,  north  of  the 
winze,  between  shafts  3  and  4,  it 
is  four  feet  wide,  and  rich  in  stamp 
and  barrel-work.  In  the  ten-fathom 
level,  driving  to  the  north  of  shaft 
No.  4,  the  vein  is  of  the  same  di- 
mensions ;  and  a  mass  of  copper, 
about  twelve  feet  in  length  and  three 
feet  high,  has  been  discovered  here. 
'In  the  adit-level,  north  of  shaft 
No.  4,  the  vein  is  also  very  wide, 
being  in  some  places  over  ten  feet, 
and  well  filled  with  copper. 


CLIFF    MINE.  275 

Two  steam-engines  have  been  erected  at  this  mine.  One  of  them  is  used 
for  stamping,  and  is  capable  of  running  twenty-four  heads.  Eight  are  now  at 
work,  and  the  number  will  be  increased  to  sixteen  immediately.  The  other 
engine,  of  twelve  inches  diameter  of  cylinder  and  four  feet  stroke,  is  intended 
for  winding  and  pumping  at  shaft  No.  4. 

The  shipments  from  the  mine  were  as  follows : — 

1852.  1853. 

Ore  shipped, 13,836  Ibs.  61,165  Ibs. 

Produce,  fine  copper, 8,622  44,166 

Percentage, 62-3  72-2 

Winthrop  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31,  Sect.  23,  southwest  quarter.  This 
location  is  supposed  to  have  upon  it  the  Hill  Vein,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  de- 
veloped to  any  extent.  Nothing  was  doing  there  at  the  time  I  visited  it,  in 
1853  ;  but  work  has  since  been  resumed  on  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  Hill 
Vein,  with  fair  prospects  of  success,  as  is  stated. 

Eagle  River  Mining  Company.  T.  58,  R.  31.  This  company  is  engaged  in 
exploring  on  sections  28,  32,  and  33  ;  no  mine-work  of  any  extent  having  been 
yet  commenced. 

Pittsburgh  and  Boston  Mining  Company.  The  Cliff  Mine.  T.  58,  R.  3.2, 
Section  36,  southeast  quarter.  The  discovery  and  opening  of  this  mine  formed 
an  era  in  the  history  of  Lake  Superior,  and  are  also  of  high  interest  to  the 
country,  as  it  was  the  first  mine  in  the  United  States,  those  of  coal  and  iron 
excepted,  systematically  and  extensively  wrought,  and  at  the  same  time  with 
profit.  Besides  this,  it  has  a  peculiar  importance  as  being  opened  on  a  vein 
bearing  copper  exclusively  in  the  native  state,  a  feature  entirely  unknown  in  the 
history  of  mining  previous  to  the  discoveries  on  Lake  Superior. 

The  history  of  the  discovery  of  the  Cliff  Mine  and  the  previous  operations  of 
the  company  is  briefly  as  follows  :* 

During  the  summer  of  1843,  a  Mr.  Raymond  made  certain  locations  in  the 
Lake  Superior  region,  for  which  he  obtained  leases,  three  of  which  he  disposed 
of  to  parties  in  Pittsburgh  and  Boston,  who  commenced  mining  in  the  summer 
of  1844.  The  first  location  made  was  at  Copper  Harbor,  where  the  outcrop  of 
a  cupriferous  vein,  on  what  is  now  called  Haysrs  Point,  was  a  conspicuous 
object,  known  to  the  voyageurs  as  "  the  green  rock/'  and  had  given  a  name  to 
that  beautiful  harbor  long  before  it  became  the  centre  of  the  copper  excite- 
ment. A  little  work  was  done  here  in  the  autumn  of  1844;  but  on  clearing 
away  the  ground  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  harbor,  where  Fort  Wilkins  noAv 
stands,  numerous  boulders  of  black  oxide  of  copper  were  found,  evidently 
belonging  to  a  vein  near  at  hand,  which  was  discovered  in  December  and 
proved  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  one  before  worked  on  Hays's  Point. 

Mining  was  commenced  here  immediately  •,  two  shafts  were  sunk,  about 
100  feet  apart,  and  considerable  black  oxide  of  copper  taken  out,  mixed  with 
the  silicate.  This  was  very  remarkable,  as  it  is  thus  far  the  only  known  in- 


*  See  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report,  Part  I.  p.  128;  also  letter  of  Thos.  Jones,  in 
a  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  Stockholders.     Boston,  1847. 


276  CLIFF    MINE. 

stance  of  a  vein  containing  this  as  the  principal  ore,  or  in  any  other  form 
than  as  an  impure  mass,  mixed  with  the  sulphuret  of  copper,  and  oxides  of 
iron  and  manganese,  and  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the  common  ore, 
copper  pyrites.  This  proved,  however,  unfortunately,  to  be  only  a  rich  bunch 
in  the  vein,  of  limited  extent,  and  which  gave  out  at  a  depth  of  a  few  feet, 
although  the  fissure  continued.  The  workings  were  entirely  confined  to  the 
conglomerate,  which  at  that  time  was  supposed  to  be  as  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  vein  as  any  other  rock.  The  gangue  associated  with  the 
black  oxide  was  principally  calc.  spar,  and  some  argillaceous  and  quartzose 
matter  intermixed.  Fine  crystals  of  analcime  were  found  connected  with  it. 
Crystallized  red  oxide  and  native  copper  were  also  obtained  in  fine  specimens. 
About  HO  or  40  tons  of  black  oxide  were  obtained  in  all,  and  sold  for  $4500. 
The  main  shaft  was  continued  down  120  feet,  and  levels  driven  each  way  for 
some  distance,  without  striking  another  bunch  of  ore,  so  that  in  1845  the  atten- 
tion of  the  company  began  to  be  turned  to  exploring  their  extensive  property, 
and  in  August  of  that  year  the  Cliff  Vein  was  discovered,  by  a  party  of  ex- 
plorers under  the  direction  of  a  Mr.  Cheny. 

This  vein  was  first  observed  on  the  summit  and  face  of  a  bluff  of  crystalline 
trap,  rising  with  a  mural  front  to  the  height  of  nearly  200  feet  above  the  valley 
of  Eagle  River  at  its  base.  The  break  or  depression  made  by  it  in  the  back 
of  the  ridge  was  quite  distinct,  and  has  since  been  traced  to  the  Lake  and  found 
marked  by  ancient  excavations.  At  the  summit  of  the  bluff,  as  I  saw  it,  a  few 
days  after  its  discovery,  it  appeared  to  be  a  few  inches  wide,  and  contained 
native  copper  and  specks  of  silver  beautifully  in  crusted  with  capillary  red 
oxide,  with  a  gangue  of  Prehnite.  Half-way  down  the  cliff,  it  had  expanded 
out  to  a  width  of  over  two  feet,  and  consisted  of  numerous  branches  of  Lau- 
monite,  with  a  small  percentage  of  metallic  copper  finely  disseminated  through 
it.  Of  course,  at  this  time,  nothing  whatever  was  known  of  the  varying  cha- 
racter of  the  lode  in  different  belts  of  rock,  nor  had  the  trap  been  supposed  by 
the  miners  to  be  the  principal  metalliferous  rock.  It  is  now  known  that  the 
vein  could  not  be  worked  with  profit  in  the  rock  in  which  it  was  discovered, 
namely,  the  crystalline  trap  or  greenstone,  as  no  vein  has  yet  proved  sufficiently 
metalliferous  in  that  belt  of  rock  to  be  profitably  mined. 

Without  knowing  anything  of  the  entire  change  in  the  character  of  the  rock 
•which  takes  place  at  the  base  of  the  cliff,  where  there  was  a  heavy  accumula- 
tion of  fragments  of  rock  dislodged  from  above,  and  suspecting  as  little  as  any 
one  else  the  unprecedented  discoveries  about  to  be  made  in  the  metalliferous 
bed  beneath,  I  advised  the  clearing  away  and  opening  of  the  vein  at  as  low  a 
point  as  possible,  because  it  appeared  to  widen  out  and  improve  in  depth.  A 
shaft  was  sunk  a  few  feet,  a  little  below  the  edge  of  the  bluff,  and  a  level 
driven  into  the  greenstone  a  short  distance,  but  nothing  was  done  of  impor- 
tance, until  the  talus  at  the  base  of  the  cliff  was  cleared  away,  and  the  vein 
traced  into  the  amygdaloid.  A  level  was  then  driven  in  upon  it,  and,  at  a 
distance  of  70  feet,  the  first  mass  of  copper  was  struck,  a  discovery  of  the 
greatest  interest,  since  it  revealed  the  presence  of  a  metalliferous  belt  whose 
existence  had  not  before  been  suspected,  and  showed  the  extension  of  the 


SOUTH    CLIFF    MINE.  279 

rals.  At  this  latter  mine  were  found  the  only  crystals  of  silver  which  have 
come  under  my  notice  from  this  region  ;  they  were  cubes,  of  about  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  across  their  faces.  The  argentiferous  portion  of  the  lodes  seems  to 
be,  in  general,  near  the  plane  of  contact  of  two  beds  of  different  lithological 
character.  The  largest  deposit  of  this  metal  yet  noticed  was  in  the  old  Cop- 
per Falls  Mine,  in  the  upper  level  in  the  trap,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  feet  only 
from  the  sandstone ;  but,  according  to  Mr.  Hill,  in  the  lower  levels  no  silver 
was  noticed.  He  remarks  also  that  the  same  is  true  of  the  Hill  Mine,  the 
quantity  observed  at  some  depth  being  much  less  than  above.  Hence  he  infers, 
that  the  veins  of  this  region  cannot  be  successfully  mined  for  silver.  A  small 
percentage  of  this  metal  is  found  in  the  smelted  copper,  a  few  ounces  to  the 
ton,  but  not  enough  to  justify  its  separation. 

The  silver  rarely  forms  lumps  of  more  than  a  few  ounces  in  weight,  although 
some  pieces  weighing  several  pounds,  and  nearly  pure,  have  been  obtained. 
Unfortunately,  such  pieces  are  often  looked  upon  by  the  miners  as  their  espe- 
cial property,  and  the  amount  received  by  the  companies  from  this  source  is 
considerably  less  than  it  ought  to  be. 

The  annexed  is  a  statement  of  the  amount  of  silver  obtained  at  the  Cliff 
Mine  ;  it  is  mostly  picked  out  by  hand  from  the  coarse  metal  which  is  taken 
out  from  under  the  stamp-heads. 

Years  :        1846.       1847.       1848.        1849.       1850.       1851. 
Silver  obtained,  in  Ibs.  troy,    ....    2416        32-5        81-25        24-75        239-        34-83 

North  American  Mining  Company.  Old  Mine,  T.  57,  R.  32,  Section  2, 
east  half;  New  or  South  Cliff  Mine,  on  Section  1,  northeast  quarter. 

This  is  also  one  of  the  oldest  companies  on  Lake  Superior,  and  has  mined 
extensively  at  two  localities.  The  "  Old  North  American  Mine,"  so  called, 
was  opened  in  1846,  and  worked  until  the  spring  of  1853,  at  which  time  the 
workings  had  reached  the  depth  of  415  feet.  The  course  of  the  principal 
vein  is  north  58°  west,  and  it  is  therefore  not  parallel  with  the  productive 
lodes  of  the  vicinity,  which  are  found  to  be  nearly  at  right  angles  with  the  line 
of  bearing  of  the  formation.  There  were,  however,  three  lodes  here,  which 
were  supposed  to  unite,  No.  2  falling  into  the  main  lode  near  the  155  foot  level, 
and  No.  1  at  a  depth  of  275  feet.  Never  having  had  an  opportunity  to  make 
a  thorough  examination  of  this  mine,  I  am  unable  to  state  all  the  facts  con- 
nected with  it.  But  it  appears  that  the  lode  was  from  the  beginning  very 
irregular  and  variable  in  width,  and  that  although,  in  some  places,  it  carried 
copper,  occasionally  in  masses  of  considerable  size,  yet  it  never  presented  a 
sufficiently  favorable  appearance  to  encourage  any  strong  hopes  that  it  could 
be  worked  with  profit.  The  produce,  hoAvever,  was  sufficient  to  justify  the 
managers  in  going  on,  in  the  hope  of  meeting  with  a  main  vein,  or  champion 
lode,  having  the  regular  course  of  the  veins  of  the  country,  into  which  the 
other  veins  should  fall  as  branches. 

The  produce  of  the  mine  was  as  follows : — 

1849.     1850.     1851.     1852. 
77,000    256,600    257,000   77,000  Ibs. 


280 


SOUTH    CLIFF    MINE. 


The  entire  sum  expended  on  this  mine,  including,  however,  the  cost  of  very 

extensive  surface  improvements,  and  of  the  land  purchased  by  the  company, 

2400  acres,  was  about  $200,000. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  one  which  shows  that  confidence  in  a  mining  region 

is  a  plant  of  slow  growth,  that  although  this  company  owned  the  line  of  the 

famous  Cliff  Vein  up  to  a  point  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  where  it  was  producing 
most  abundantly,  yet  it  was  not  until  the 
summer  of  1852  that  the  attempt  was  made 
to  open  it  upon  the  North  American  Com- 
pany's territory.  One  reason  of  this  delay 
was,  undoubtedly,  the  belief  in  the  very 
great  thickness  of  the  drift  in  the  valley  of 
the  Eagle  River,  through  which  it  would  be 
necessary  to  sink  before  the  vein  could  be 
reached  ;  nothing  was  known  with  certainty 
respecting  it,  but  it  would  not  have  been  a 
difficult  operation,  at  least,  to  bore  down 
and  settle  the  matter.  On  actually  sinking 
a  shaft,  it  was  found  that  it  passed  through 
from  8  to  12  feet  of  sand,  and  then  through 
quicksand,  until  the  stratum  of  hard-pan 
was  struck  lying  directly  on  the  rock,  which, 
itself,  was  52  feet  from  the  surface.  All 
difficulty  in  sinking  here,  from 'water,  would 
have  been  obviated  by  constructing  the 
shaft  of  boiler-iron,  and  in  sections.  On 
striking  the  rock,  a  shaft  was  sunk  2.2  feet, 
and  on  cross-cutting  at  that  depth,  a  vein 
was  found  at  a  distance  of  14  feet  from  the 
shaft,  3J  feet  wide,  and  showing  all  the 
character  of  the  Cliff  Vein  itself,  which  it 
was. 

The  annexed  section  (Fig.  22)  represents 
the  state  of  the  work  on  this  vein  at  the 
present  time  (Feb.  1854).  The  whole 
amount  of  ground  opened  in  driving  is  715 
feet;  cross-cutting,  76  feet;  sinking  in 
rock,  438  feet ;  stoping,  106  fathoms.  From 
these  workings  the  extraordinary  amount  of 
506,000  Ibs.  of  stuff,  yielding  67J  per  cent, 
of  copper,  was  taken. 

The  largest  mass  ever  yet  observed  on 
Lake  Superior  was  thrown  down  in  this 
mine  on  July  4,  1853 ;  it  was  about  40 
feet  long,  20  high,  and  supposed  to  average 
2  in  thickness.  Its  weight  was  estimated 

at  from  150  to  200  tons.      At  the  time  of  my  last  visit  to  the  mines  the 


FULTON    MINE.  281 

cutting  of  this  magnificent  mass  had  just  commenced,  and  was  expected  to 
occupy  several  months  ;  what  the  precise  weight  proved  to  be  I  have  not  been 
able  to  ascertain. 

The  veinstone  of  this  mine,  near  the  surface,  furnished  beautiful  specimens 
of  Prehnite  with  crystallized  copper.     An  interesting  occurrence  of  the  former 
mineral  in  radiated  nodules  in  perfectly  pure  metallic  copper,  as  represented 
in  the  annexed  cut  (Fig.    23),  is   well 
worthy  of  notice,  as  throwing  light  on  the 
origin  of  the  metal  in  the  veins. 

As  the  workings  of  this  mine  are 
pushed  to  the  south  of  the  greenstone 
farther  than  in  any  other  mine  in  the 
same  geological  position,  it  will  be  a 
matter  of  great  interest  to  notice  the  Mass  of  copper  containing  nodules  of 
changes  which  take  place  in  the  cha-  Prehnite. 

racter  of  the  vein  as  it  is  opened  in  that  direction.  At  shaft  No.  1,  it  was  un- 
precedently  rich ;  on  driving  towards  No.  2  the  ground  became  poorer,  and 
continued  so  for  some  distance,  but  at  the  time  of  my  last  visit,  it  was  improv- 
ing rapidly.  In  the  2d  level,  the  vein  is  said  to  be  much  better  than  above. 

Two  steam-engines  are  in  operation,  one  of  which  is  employed  in  pumping 
and  winding,  and  the  other  in  stamping.  The  company  has  also  an  extensive 
farm,  on  the  products  of  which  a  profit  was  made,  in  1853,  of  about  $3500. 

Albion  Mining  Company.  T.  57,  R.  32,  Section  11.  This  company  is  at 
present  located  on  Portage  Lake ;  but  operations  were  carried  on  by  them  at 
this  Point  for  several  years.  The  vein  is  in  the  same  geological  position  as 
that  of  the  Cliff  Mine,  but  is  barren  of  copper.  A  shaft  was  sunk  in  the 
greenstone,  and  continued  through  the  conglomerate,  which  it  intersected  at 
115  feet  in  depth,  into  the  amj-gdaloid,  where  the  vein  was  found  to  have  been 
thrown  70  feet  to  the  east.  The  shaft  was  sunk  to  nearly  200  feet  below  the 
adit,  without  any  encouragement ;  the  vein,  which  was  about  2£  feet  wide, 
being  of  the  most  unpromising  character.  The  work  was  abandoned  in  1852. 
Fulton  Mining  Company.  T.  57,  R.  32,  Section  33,  southeast  quarter. 
This  was  formerly  known  as  the  Forsyth  Mine,  and  was  abandoned  in  1847, 
without  having  been  sufficiently  proved.  The  work  was  resumed  early  in  the 
season  of  1853,  by  the  present  company,  and  has  been  pushed  with  uncommon 
energy.  The  vein  has  a  course  of  north  9°  to  11°  west,  and  dips  to  the  east 
at  an  angle  of  about  75°.  Its  width,  where  best  developed,  is  from  one  to  two 
feet.  The  adit-level  is  driven  in  about  500  feet,  at  which  distance  it  intersects 
shaft  No.  3,  at  a  depth  of  88  feet  below  the  surface.  Above  the  adit  a  few 
fathoms  of  ground  have  been  stoped  out,  and  p'roduced  largely.  To  the  south 
of  shaft  No.  3,  the  vein  is  intersected  by  a  slide,  which  dips  to  the  north,  and 
has  thrown  the  vein  out  of  its  course,  so  that  it  has  not  yet  been  found  in  that 
direction.  Shafts  No.  2  and  3  have  been  sunk  to  the  ten-fathom  level,  and  a 
rich  block  of  ground  will  be  opened  between  them.  Between  shafts  3  and  4, 
above  the  adit,  the  lode  was  found  to  be  very  rich,  producing  nearly  a  ton  of 
copper  to  the  fathom.  Several  masses,  weighing  from  500  Ibs.  to  a  ton,  have 
been  taken  out. 


282  VEINS  OF  ISLE  ROYALE. 

The  veinstone,  unlike  most  of  those  of  Keweenaw  Point,  contains'  conside- 
rable epidote,  which  is  mixed  with  calcareous  spar.  An  unusually  large 
amount  of  silver  was  obtained  from  this  mine  in  the  superficial  workings, 

Beyond  the  Fulton  Mine,  the  distinction  between  the 
crystalline  trap,  or  greenstone,  and  the  amygdaloid,  which  is 
so  conspicuous  a  feature  of  the  geology  of  the  Point,  can  no 
longer  be  traced.  A  marked  change  takes  place  in  the 
character  of  the  metalliferous  deposits  within  a  few  miles, 
and  the  mines  of  Portage  Lake,  which  are  next  in  geogra- 
phical order,  being  only  about  twelve  miles  distant,  are  quite 
different  from  those  which  have  hitherto  been  described. 

Before  passing  to  the  next  division,  however,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  there  are  also,  on  Keweenaw  Point,  some 
important  veins  which  have  not  yet  been  the  object  of  ex- 
ploration by  companies  ;  they  are  usually  known  each  by 
the  name  of  its  discoverer,  or  of  the  preemptor  of  the  quar- 
ter-section on  which  it  is  situated.  One  or  two  of  the  prin- 
cipal ones  are  mentioned  below. 

Manhattan  Location.  T.  58,  R.  28,  Sections  14  and  15.  Two  lodes  have 
been  opened  on  the  surface  in  Section  14,  with  a  fair  show  of  copper.  No 
regular  mining  has  been  commenced.  The  western  lode  is  three  feet  wide, 
and  consists  of  the  usual  veinstone  of  the  productive  veins  of  the  region,  with 
small  particles  of  copper  finely  disseminated  through  it. 

Montreal  Location.  T.  58,  R.  28,  parts  of  Sections  8,  9,  and  17.  This 
has  not  yet  been  organized  into  a  company.  There  are  several  veins 
upon  the  location,  but.  none  of  them  have  been  opened  to  any  extent.  The 
"  Montreal  Vein"  appears  to  be  the  continuation  of  the  "  Black  Oxide  Vein," 
formerly  worked  at  Copper  Harbor.  It  is  from  one  to  two  feet  in  width,  and 
has  an  excellent-looking  veinstone,  carrying  considerable  fine  copper  dissemi- 
nated through  it.  On  the  northeast  quarter  of  Section  8,  is  another  vein, 
which  has  been  opened  at  various  points  along  a  line  1800  feet  in  length, 
showing  a  width  of  1 2  inches,  and  a  small  percentage  of  copper.  This  pro- 
perty is  worthy  of  a  thorough  trial.  The  "  Clark  Vein"  is  near  the  centre  of 
Section  8,  and  has  been  opened  in  the  greenstone,  where  it  is  two  feet  wide, 
and  well  filled  with  copper :  pieces  of  several  pounds  weight  having  been  found. 

ISLE   ROYALE. 

Having  thus  given  an  account  of  the  most  important  loca- 
lities or  mines  of  copper  on  Keweenaw  Point,  we  will  next 
take  up  Isle  Royale,  which  is,  in  many  respects,  the  counter- 


ISLE   ROYALE.  283 

part  of  the  region  just  described.  The  ridges  of  trap  traverse 
the  island  longitudinally,  and  this  rock,  with  occasional  in- 
tercalated belts  of  conglomerate,  forms  the  whole  island, 
with  the  exception  of  a  part  of  its  southwestern  end.  The 
trap  all  belongs  to  the  bedded  class,  and  contains  the  same 
metalliferous  products  as  on  Keweenaw  Point.  The  strata 
have,  however,  a  dip  which  is  just  the  reverse  of  that  of  the 
rocks  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lake,  and  their'mural  faces  are 
turned  to  the  north.  In  one  respect,  there  is  a  great  diffe- 
rence between  the  bedded  trap  of  this  island,  as  well  as  of 
Michipicoten,  and  that  of  the  southern  shore ;  it  is  in  much 
thinner  masses,  there  being  none  of  those  thick  beds  in 
which  the  great  mines  of  the  other  side  are  worked.  As  a 
consequence,  the  metalliferous  lodes  are  liable  to  frequent 
changes,  passing  through  a  variety  of  different  beds,  and 
exhibiting  a  different  character  in  each.  This  has  formed 
the  great  drawback  to  the  development  of  the  cupriferous 
veins,  which  are  very  numerous  upon  the  island. 

The  most  extravagant  notions  formerly  prevailed  with  re- 
gard to  the  richness  of  Isle  Royale  in  copper,  and  soon  after 
the  opening  of  the  Lake  Superior  region,  nearly  the  whole 
island  was  taken  possession  of  by  different  companies,  and 
operations  were  commenced  at  numerous  points.  All  the 
mines  opened  were  on  or  near  the  shore,  as  the  physical  dif- 
ficulties of  exploring  the  interior  are  such  as  to  render  it 
almost  impossible  that  important  discoveries  should  be  made 
at  any  distance  inland. 

There  are  numerous  veins  which,  like  those  of  Keweenaw 
Point,  traverse  the  formation  nearly  at  right  angles  to  it, 
and  others  which  are  parallel  with  it,  resembling  in  their 
main  features  the  veins  of  the  Ontonagon  district,  but  occa- 
sionally dipping  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that  of  the  beds 
of  rock.  Epidote  belts  occur  here  which  are  filled  with  fine 
particles  of  native  copper ;  but  they  have  not  been  found 
sufficiently  persistent  in  their  metalliferous  character  to  be 
worthy  of  being  worked. 

On  visiting  the  island  in  the  summer  of  1853,  I  found 
nearly  all  the  mines  abandoned.  At  two  of  them  only,  opera- 
tions were  still  continued  on  a  small  scale. 


284 


SISKAWIT    MINE. 


Siskaivit  Mining  Company.  T.  66,  B.  34,  Section  13,  southwest  quarter. 

This  mine  has  been  quite  extensively  worked,  and  yielded  considerable  copper 

in  the  productive  rock  in  which  it  was  first  opened.     The  annexed  section 

(Fig.  24);  although  not  strictly  accurate,  will  convey  a  sufficiently  clear  idea 

of  the  extent  of  the  mine,  and  the 
position  of  the  rocks  in  which  it  is  si- 
tuated. It  represents  nearly  the  state 
of  the  workings  in  the  summer  of  1853. 
In  the  bed  of  rock  indicated  by  a  on 
the  section,  the  vein  yielded  consi- 
derable copper,  in  stamp-work  and 
'  masses,  as  indicated  by  the  stoping ; 
but,  unfortunately,  the  workings  could 
only  be  extended  with  profit  by  car- 
rying them  under  the  lake,  as  the  dip 
of  the  rocks  is  in  that  direction ;  and 
on  sinking  but  a  short  distance,  a 
stratum  of  hard,  compact,  basaltic  trap 
(b)j  15  feet  thick,  was  encountered, 
on  entering  which,  the  lode  contracted 
to  a  mere  fissure,  and  was  entirely 
barren  of  copper.  The  principal  shaft 
has  been  sunk  to  the  60-fathom  level 
below  the  adit,  during  the  past  winter, 
in  the  hope  of  intersecting  a  more  pro- 
ductive belt  of  rock.  '  The  vein  in  the 
bed  b  was  so  pinched  up  as  to  be 
hardly  visible,  but  the  walls  remained 
good,  so  that  it  could  be  followed. 
Below,  in  c,  the  rock  was  softer  and 
less  crystalline,  with  occasional  amyg- 
dules  of  calc.  spar.  At  the  point  in- 
dicated on  the  section  as  the  bottom 
of  the  shaft,  the  vein  was  about  one 
foot  wide,  of  which  three  inches  were 
good  veinstone,  consisting  of  quartz 
and  chlorite,  and  carrying  a  little  cop- 
per in  fine  scales.  I  learn  from  the 
Superintendent,  M.  Curnow,  Esq.,  that 
in  sinking  the  last  120  feet  the  vein 

has  improved  considerably,  but  that  farther  change  for  the  better  would  be 

requisite  to  put  the  mine  in  a  paying  condition. 

The  North  Vein,  so  called,  a  short  distance  from  the  one  just  described, 

averages  about  14  inches  wide,  and  is  well  filled  with  copper. 

There  is  a  steam-engine  at"  the  Siskawit  Mine,  which  pumps,  and  drives  12 

heads  of  stamps.     It  was  employed  during  the  last  summer  in  stamping  the 


ONTONAGON    DISTRICT.  285 

rock  formerly  rejected  as  halvans,  working  up  350  tons  per  month.  From 
this  quantity  of  rock  about  1  ton  of  90  per  cent.,  and  \  ton  of  50  per  cent, 
copper  was  obtained,  at  an  estimated  expense  of  $400. 

I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  the  exact  shipments  of  stuff  from  this  mine, 
but,  according  to  official  information,  it  appears  that  $16,000  had  been  received 
from  sales  of  copper  up  to  January  1852,  and,  together  with  $G8,000  raised  by 
assessments,  expended  on  the  mine.  In  1852,  about  80,000  Ibs.  of  stuff,  ave- 
raging 78  per  cent,  of  copper,  were  shipped ;  and  in  1853,  38,437  Ibs.,  which 
was  probably  of  about  the  same  richness. 

Pittsburgh  and  Me  Royale  Mining  Company.  T.  65,  R.  36,  Section  12, 
northwest  quarter.  The  principal  workings  of  this  company  have  been  on  a 
vein,  near  the  lake,  which  is  contained  in  a  hard,  crystalline  trap,  and  is  quite 
narrow,  but  rich  in  copper,  considering  the  nature  of  the  rock  in  which  it 
occurs.  It  bears  north  20°  east,  and  has  a  width,  when  best  developed,  of 
about  18  inches.  Shaft  No.  2  is  135  feet  deep,  not  having  been  continued  any 
farther  on  account  of  the  miserably  defective  machinery  for  removing  the  water. 
Shaft  No.  1  is  of  the  same  depth,  and  the  two  are  connected  by  a  level  113 
feet  in  length.  Above  this  level,  considerable  ground  has  been  stoped  out,  and 
also  in  the  vicinity  of  shaft  No.  2  ;  and  from  14  to  15  tons  of  stuff,  mostly  in 
sheets,  and  nearly  pure  copper,  sent  to  market. 

A  shaft  has  also  been  sunk,  on  the  hill  about  one  mile  south  of  the  present 
mine,  to  the  depth  of  223  feet,  on  a  wide  vein,  but  destitute  of  copper. 

ONTONAGON   MINING   DISTRICT. 

Following  a  purely  geographical  division,  the  district  of 
Portage  Lake  should  have  been  taken  up  next  to  that  of 
Keweenaw  Point,  but  as  the  metalliferous  deposits  of  that 
region  are  quite  distinct  in  character,  and  form  a  group  by 
themselves,  they  will  be  discussed  after  those  of  the  Ontona- 
gon ;  in  this  way  a  regular  gradation  in  the  character  of  the 
mode  of  occurrence  is  made  the  basis  of  the  classification, 
each  district  succeeding  the  one  with  which  it  has  the  great- 
est analogy  in  this  respect. 

The  region  in  which  are  situated  the  mines  which  are 
about  to  be  described,  takes  its  name  from  the  principal 
river  which  drains  it,  the  Ontonagon.  This  stream  has  three 
branches,  one  of  which  flows  from  the  east,  another  from 
the  west,  and  the  third  from  the  south,  and,  uniting  nearly 
at  the  same  point,  they  cross  the  trap  range  at  right  angles 
to  its  course,  and  furnish  a  tolerable  means  of  communica- 
tion between  the  mines  and  the  Lake,  which  might  be  much 


286  ONTONAGON    CUPRIFEROUS    DEPOSITS. 

improved  at  a  small  expense.  The  mines  are  situated  on 
the  trap  range,  and  are  worked  at  various  points  for  a  dis- 
tance of  twelve  miles  on  each  side  of  the  river,  making  the 

'  O 

whole  length  of  the  district  about  twenty-four  miles.  Be- 
tween the  most  northeasterly  mine  of  the  district,  the  Doug- 
lass Houghton,  and  the  mines  on  Portage  Lake,  there  is  a 
distance  of  twenty-five  miles,  in  which  no  mining  operations 
are  now  carried  on,  with,  perhaps,  one  exception.  The  trap 
range,  in  that  part  of  its  course,  is  much  broken  up  into 
small  knobs,  and  is  almost  entirely  concealed  by  drift.  The 
explorations  which  have  been  made  in  that  part  of  the 
range,  seem  to  indicate  that  there  are  no  veins  there  which 
can  be  profitably  worked.  To  the  west,  the  limits  of  the 
really  valuable  part  of  the  range  are  not  yet  defined ;  I  have 
seen  no  veins  which  seemed  to  me  sufficiently  well-developed 
to  be  profitably  worked,  west  of  the  line  between  townships 
41  and  42 ;  and,  indeed,  in  the  Geological  Report  on  that 
region,  the  lands  were  not  marked  as  mineral  beyond  a 
point  three  miles  west  of  the  line  between  townships  40  and 
41.  Farther  explorations  may  reveal  the  presence  of  metal- 
liferous deposits  of  value  in  the  region  extending  west  to 
the  Montreal  River,  but  such  remain  still  to  be  discovered. 

The  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  cupriferous  deposits  of 
this  region  differs  materially  from  that  exhibited  by  the 
veins  of  Keweenaw  Point.  They  are  characterized  by  a 
constant  parallelism  with  the  line  of  strike  of  the  formation, 
although  sometimes  occurring  in  deposits  in  which  no  par- 
ticular direction  can  be  perceived. 

The  character  of  the  trappean  rocks  is  somewhat  different 
in  this  district  from  what  it  is  on  Keweenaw  Point.  The 
varieties  of  rock  are  more  numerous,  and  epidote  becomes 
a  frequent  associate  both  of  the  rock  and  the  veins,  almost 
always  occurring  where  copper  is  found.  West  of  the 
Ontonagon,  a  large  part  of  the  range  on  the  north  is  made 
up  of  a  reddish  quartzose  porphyry,  which  appears  to  be 
entirely  barren  of  copper  in  any  form.  Intercalated  in  the 
trap  are  frequent  beds  of  conglomerate,  which  are  usually 
quite  thin,  and  to  the  north  it  is  flanked,  as  in  Point  Kewee- 


ONTONAGON    CUPRIFEROUS    DEPOSITS.  287 

naw,  by  heavy  beds  of  tins  rock.  There  is  no  marked  belt 
of  unproductive  crystalline  rock  extending  through  the 
Ontonagon  region,  and  the  position  of  the  veins  and  deposits 
is  not  so  well  ascertained  with  reference  to  any  fixed  line  of 
upheaval. 

Copper  is  apparently  quite  as  abundantly  diffused  through 
the  Ontonagon  district  as  anywhere  else ;  but  thus  far,  the 
workings  have  not  been  attended  with  so  great  a  degree  of 
success  as  on  Point  Keweenaw,  mainly  because  there  seems 
to  be  less  concentration  of  the  metal  within  limited  spaces, 
and  into  workable  veins. 

The  copper  of  this  region  occurs  in  four  forms  of  deposit. 

1st.  Indiscriminately  scattered  through  the  beds  of  trap. 

2d.  In  contact  deposits  between  the  trap  and  sandstone  or 
conglomerate. 

3d.  In  seams  or  courses  parallel  with  the  bedding  of  the 
rocks,  and  having  the  nature  of  segregated  veins. 

4th.  In  true  veins  coinciding  in  direction  with  the  beds 
of  rock,  but  dipping  at  a  different,  and  usually  a  greater 
angle,  in  the  same  direction  with  the  formation. 

Deposits  of  the  first-mentioned  class  occur  frequently,  and 
have  been  worked  in  several  places,  but  with  poor  success. 
"Were  the  copper,  which  is  thus  scattered  through  the  rock 
without  law  or  rule,  collected  into  a  reasonable  number  of 
veins,  it  might  be  profitably  worked,  but,  as  it  is,  it  seems 
almost  a  hopeless  case  at  present.  Masses  of  many  hundred 
pounds  weight  have  been  repeatedly  found  in  the  trap,  with- 
out any  connection  with  a  vein-fissure,  and  sometimes  unac- 
companied by  veinstone,  although  this  is  not  usually  the 
case.  The  particles  of  copper,  when  smaller,  often  fill 
amygdules  in  the  trap,  and  are  usually  somewhat  more  con- 
centrated along  the  line  of  junction  of  two  beds  of  different 
character,  indicating  a  tendency  to  an  arrangement  of  the 
character  of  the  second  class  above  indicated. 

Contact  deposits  have,  in  some  instances,  become  of  con- 
siderable importance  in  this  district,  although  their  perma- 
nent value,  as  it  seems  to  me,  can  only  be  tested  by  deep 
workings.  When  they  occur  between  the  sandstone  and 


288  ONTONAGON    CUPRIFEROUS    DEPOSITS. 

the  trap,  as  illustrated  in  tlie  annexed  section  (Fig.  25),  which 

represents  a  locality  formerly 
worked  by  the  Isle  Royale 
Company,  in  the  Porcupine 
Mountains,  they  appear  to  be 
of  little  value.  In  such  cases 
they  are  soon  found  to  lose 
their  metallic  contents,  on 
being  opened  at  any  depth. 
This  was  the  case  at  the  point 
illustrated  by  the  figure,  in 
which  A  represents  a  seam  of 

A,  Contact  deposit  between  trap  and  sand-     bllie  plastic  day  aild    chlorite, 
stone.    B,  Parallel  deposit  in  the  sandstone.          -,1       n,  /-»    ,-\  -1-1 

C,  Seam  of  calc.  spar  in  the  trap.  With    fragments    of  the    Walls, 

the  whole  forming  a  sort  of 

breccia,  and  containing,  near  the  surface,  considerable  native 
copper.  At  the  Union  Mine,  in  the  vicinity,  a  chloritic  bed 
having  a  similar  position  was  worked  to  a  considerable  depth, 
but  its  metallic  contents,  which  were  not  large  in  quantity 
at  the  surface,  diminished  rapidly  in  depth. 

The  deposits  of  copper  which  occur  between  the  trap  and 
the  conglomerate  in  this  district,  are  much  more  difficult  to 
classify.  They  appear  to  belong  to  the  contact  deposits,  but 
have  some  of  the  characteristic  features  of  true  veins.  Im- 
mense masses  of  copper  are  accumulated  in  this  position 
near  the  surface,  and  even  at  a  considerable  depth,  and  it 
remains  to  be  seen  what  degree  of  persistence  they  will  ex- 
hibit at  a  still  lower  point. 

The  third  class  of  deposits,  that  in  seams  parallel  with  the 
bedding  of  the  rocks,  or  in  segregated  veins,  is  one  peculiar 
to  this  district.  In  several  of  the  mines  the  vein  is  wont  to 
be  found  irregular  in  its  course,  suddenly  heaved  to  one  side 
or  the  other,  or  disappearing  altogether,  and  lacking  through- 
out some  of  the  principal  characteristics  of  true  veins ;  in 
such  cases,  I  regard  the  metallic  matter  as  being  accumu- 
lated, with  more  or  less  veinstone,  in  parallel  courses,  which 
coincide  with  the  bedding  of  the  rocks,  but  are  irregular  in 
respect  to  their  extent  and  the  distribution  of  the  metallife- 
rous and  mineral  matter  in  them.  This  mode  of  occurrence 


ALGONQUIN    MINE. 


289 


Fig.  26. 


Parallel  layers  of  cupriferous  veinstone,  near  the 
Douglass  Houghton  Mine. 


may  be  illustrated  by  the  annexed  section  (Fig.  26),  which 
was  taken  near  the  Douglass  Houghton  Mine.  The  parallel 
layers  of  veinstone  are 
represented  by  0,  «,  «, 
and  the  rock  adjacent 
contains  a  large  amount 
of  epidote,  indicated  by 
the  oblique  lines.  These 
metalliferous  belts  are 
not  always  strictly  paral- 
lel, but  occasionally  run 
into  each  other,  both 
horizontally  and  verti- 
cally, and  thus  give  rise 
to  the  so-called  feeder- 
veins  ;  frequently  they 
diminish  to  a  mere  seam, 
destitute  of  veinstone  or  metal,  and  then  the  vein  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  thrown  to  one  side  or  the  other,  and  on 
cross-cutting  another  seam  is  struck,  and  perhaps  found  to 
be  well  filled  with  copper,  and  it  is  then  supposed  that  the 
same  vein  has  been  recovered.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say 
that  deposits  of  this  kind  may  not  in  some  instances  be  pro- 
fitably worked,  but  great  caution  must  be  observed  in  ex- 
pending money  upon  them. 

Metalliferous  deposits  occur  in  this  district  which  have 
most  of  the  characteristics  of  true  veins ;  they  do,  indeed, 
coincide  with  the  line  of  bearing  of  the  rocks,  but  in  their 
downward  direction  they  are  found  to  be  wholly  indepen- 
dent. Such  veins  are  often  rich  in  copper,  and  may  be 
worked  with  almost  certainty  of  success ;  unfortunately, 
their  number  in  this  district  appears  to  be  quite  limited, 
although  their  longitudinal  extent  is  considerable. 

The  above  enumerated  forms  of  deposit  will  be  sufficiently 
illustrated  in  speaking  of  the  particular  mines,  to  which  we 
now  turn  our  attention. 

Algonquin  Mining  Company.  T.  52,  R.  37,  Section  36.  Considerable 
work  has  been  done  here  at  various  times,  and  in  various  places  on  the  Section. 

19 


290  TOLTEC    MINE. 

In  1848,  there  was  at  one  point  an  open  cut,  about  35  feet  in  length  and  10 
feet  deep,  from  which  a  considerable  quantity  of  copper  had  been  taken. 


No.  4.  No.  3.  No.  2.  No.l. 


Section  of  the  Douglass  Houghton  Mine,  February  1854. 

Douglass  Hougliton  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  37,  Section  15,  northwest 
quarter.  Operations  were  commenced  here  on  a  small  scale  in  1846,  but  it 
was  not  until  1850  that  the  work  was  vigorously  pushed.  The  extent  of  the 
mine  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  annexed  section  (Fig.  27),  which  repre- 
sents the  state  of  the  works,  February  1st,  1854.  The  vein,  at  the  surface, 
appeared  between  two  and  three  feet  wide,  with  a  quartzose  veinstone,  and 
was  quite  well  filled  with  copper.  At  that  point,  it  had  two  perfectly  defined 
walls,  separated  from  the  rock  by  selvages  of  argillaceous  matter,  and  a 
gangue  distinct  from  the  rock.  In  the  workings  of  the  mine,  however,  it  has 
not  so  much  regularity  as  would  be  desirable :  in  some  places  it  is  two  feet  in 
width,  and  well  charged  with  copper ;  and  in  others  it  becomes  entirely  lost, 
and  can  with  difficulty  be  traced.  There  is  a  break  or  fault  intersecting  the 
vein  vertically  between  shafts  2  and  3,  and  displacing  it  to  the  amount  of  14 
feet.  Two  slides  have  also  been  found  to  traverse  the  rocks,  and  have  shifted 
and  deranged  the  vein  along  their  course.  During  the  past  winter,  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  mine  is  said  to  have  improved  materially,  and  I  learn  from 
Mr.  Coulter,  the  Superintendent,  that  there  were  in  February  last  2500  fathoms 
of  ground  ready  to  be  stoped,  in  most  of  which  the  lode  is  wide,  and  well 
filled  with  barrel  and  stamp-work. 

There  is  a  stamping-mill  near  the  mine,  with  eight  heads,  moved  by  water 
power. 

About  5  tons  of  barrel- work  and  mass  copper  were  shipped  in  1853,  and 
120  barrels  of  stamp  and  barrel-work,  and  four  masses,  amounting  to  25  tons 
in  all,  were  at  Ontonagon,  ready  for  shipment,  in  February  1854. 

Toltec  Consolidated  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  38,  Section  25,  south  half. 
This  is  a  consolidated  company,  formed  on  the  Farm  and  Toltec  locations. 
Mining  was  commenced  in  1850,  and  at  the  present  time  a  large  amount 


AZTEC  —  ALGOMAH. 


291 


Fig.  28. 


of  ground  is  opened  for  sloping,  and   the   excavations  are  quite  extensive, 

as   will    be  observed   by  examining  the   annexed   section    (Fig.  28),  which 

represents   the  amount  of  work  done  up   to 

March  1854.      The   deepest  shaft  is   down 

210    feet,     The  No.   1  shaft,  on  part  of  the 

vein  formerly  belonging  to  the  Farm  Mine, 

was  found  to   have   been    sunk  on  what  is 

thought  to  be  a  "  feeder"  to  the  main  vein, 

and  the  level  between  that  shaft  and  No.  2  is 

driven  on  the  same.     A  cross-cut,  66  feet  in 

length,  from  this  level,  intersects  the   main 

vein,  as  it  is  considered.     The  character  of 

the  lode  varies  very  much  in  different  parts 

of  the   mine.     At  shaft  No.  4,  it  dips   64°, 

and  is  about  3  inches  wide  ;  at  No.  3,  it  has 

an  inclination  of  56°,  and  is  20  inches  wide, 

and  well  filled  with  copper,  a  mass  of  a  ton 

in  weight  having  been  found  here.     At  other 

points  it  is  from  2  to  3  feet  wide,  and  very 

variable  in  richness.     Indeed,  so  irregular  is 

the  distribution  of  the  metal  in  the  vein,  that 

it  would   be  quite  hazardous  to  make  any 

assertions  as  to  the  future  prospects  of  the 

mine.     The  work  thus  far  has  been  executed 

with  judgment,  and,  if  sufficient  care  is  taken 

to  avoid  excavating  the  poor  ground,  and  not 

to  allow  the  rich  part  of  the  vein  to  escape 

notice,  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  operations 

may  be  conducted  with  profit. 

The  gangue  of  the  vein  is  almost  exclu- 
sively quartz,  often  well  crystallized,  and 
occasionally  associated  with  fine  specimens 
of  Prehnite. 

Stamps  have  not  yet  been  erected,  but  it  is 
understood  that  they  soon  will  be.  A  small 
shipment  of  masses  and  barrel-work  was 
made  in  1853,  amounting  to  about  11,000 
pounds. 

Algomah  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R. 
37,  Section  30,  west  half.  This  location 

adjoins  the  one  just  noticed  on  the  east,  and  it  is  said  that  the  same  vein  has 
been  opened  upon  it  during  the  past  winter,  and  found  to  be  well-developed. 
There  was  nothing  doing  on  the  property  at  the  time  I  was  there,  in  1853. 

Aztec  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  37,  Section  31,  west  half.  There  is  no 
regular  vein  or  appearance  of  one  at  the  point  where  workings  have  been 
carried  on  by  this  company.  A  large  excavation  has  been  made  in  a  bluff  of 
a  very  irregular  shape,  about  20  feet  high,  and  descending  at  a  steep  angle, 


292  ADVENTURE    MINE. 

but  it  was  filled  with  water  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  The  bluff  was  found  to 
have  been  very  extensively  worked  over  by  the  a*ncient  miners,  and  the  copper 
appears  to  be  scattered  indiscriminately  through  the  rock,  mostly  in  lumps  of 
a  few  pounds,  and  in  small  masses,  sometimes,  however,  amounting  to  several 
hundred  pounds  in  weight.  Finely  crystallized  minerals  are  found  in  connec- 
tion with  the  copper,  especially  calc.  spar,  in  various  forms,  among  which  the 
dog-tooth  is  the  most  common. 

As  the  result  of  these  workings  at  random  in  the  rock,  about  4  tons  were 
shipped  in  1852  and  10  tons  in  1853,  of  stuff  which  would  probably  yield  about 
75  per  cent,  of  pure  copper.  At  the  time  I  visited  the  place,  in  1853,  opera- 
tions had  been  suspended. 

Bohemian  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  37,  Section  31,  east  half.  This  is 
known  as  the  Piscataqua  location,  but  it  is  worked  by  a  company  under  the 
charter  of  the  old  Bohemian  Company.  In  September  1853,  a  shaft  was  sink- 
ing here,  and  was  already  down  63  feet,  inclining  at  an  angle  of  33°  to  the 
north.  A  seam  of  epidote,  mixed  with  quartz  and  calc.  spar,  was  observed  in 
it,  carrying  in  places  a  good  deal  of  .copper.  A  drift  has  been  extended  on 
what  is  supposed  to  be  the  vein,  both  east  and  west  from  the  adit-level,  but  it 
is  difficult  to  trace  the  existence  of  any  regular  vein.  A  cross-course  or  slide 
of  clayey  matter  intersects  it  to  the  east  of  the  adit,  and  beyond  that  the  vein 
had  not  been  found.  The  epidote  seam,  when  it  can  be  traced,  is  rich  in  cop- 
per. An  amount  of  stuff  which  would  produce  about  1£  tons  of  pure  copper 
was  shipped  in  1853,  leaving  about  20  tons  of  good  stamp-work  on  the  surface. 
It  is  understood  that  considerable  copper  has  been  taken  out  here  during  the 
past  winter. 

Ohio  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  38,  Section  36,  east  half.  A  shaft  had 
been  sunk  here,  in  August  1853,  69  feet,  on  a  worthless  seam  of  quartz  and 
epidote. 

Adventure  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  38,  Section  36,  west  half,  and  Sec- 
tion 35,  northwest  and  southeast  quarters.  A  large  amount  of  work  has  been 
done  here,  and  a  good  deal  of  copper  taken  out,  from  extensive  but  very  irre- 
gular excavations,  which  are  not  upon  any  vein,  but  ramify  through  the  bluff, 
in  which  copper  seems  to  have  been  distributed  with  so  much  abundance  that, 
were  it  concentrated  into  a  vein,  it  would  be  well  worthy  of  working.  As  it  is, 
I  see  little  encouragement  for  prosecuting  the  works  any  farther  at  this  point. 

The  copper  seems  to  have  been  scattered  through  the  bluff  promiscuously, 
and  is  found  sometimes  in  large  masses,  not  unfrequently  accompanied  by 
silver.  This  rock  is  a  somewhat  crystalline  and  compact  trap,  and  bunches  of 
veinstone,  consisting  of  epidote,  beautifully  crystallized  calc.  spar,  feldspar,  &c., 
are  found  in  the  amygdaloidal  cavities  of  the  rock. 

In  1853,  the  old  workings  were  abandoned,  and  a  drift  was  carried  in  on  a 
belt  of  rotten  veinstone,  between  two  beds  of  rock  at  the  base  of  the  bluff,  dip- 
ping at  an  angle  of  48°,  and  carrying  some  copper :  it  did  not  appear  to  be 
very  promising. 

From  the  above  workings,  irregular  as  they  are,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
copper  has  been  obtained,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  statement : — 


MINNESOTA    MINE.  293 

1851.  1852.  1853. 

Shipped, 21,073  54,074  23,527  Ibs. 

Yield  of  pure  copper,  .    .    12,478  11,988 

Percentage, 59  50 

The  silver  found  here  occurs  in  vugs,  generally  in  masses  of  calc.  spar ;  one 
specimen  is  said  to  have  weighed  5  Ibs.,  and  to  have  contained  about  4  Ibs.  of 
the  pure  metal. 

Ridge  Mining  Company.  T.  51,  R.  38,  Section  35,  southwest  quarter.  A 
considerable  amount  of  money  has  been  expended  here,  so  far  as  I  can  see, 
without  any  sufficient  grounds.  Two  shafts  have  been  sunk,  at  300  feet  dis- 
tance apart.  The  deepest,  Clark's  shaft,  was,  in  Dec.  1853,  12  feet  below  the 
45-fathom  level.  Four  levels  have  been  extended  between  them,  but  no  stoping 
had  been  done  in  1853.  During  the  last  summer,  an  engine  and  stamps  were 
erecting,  but  I  was  unable  to  find  in  the  stuff  taken  from  the  mines  anything 
which  would  pay  for  stamping. 

According  to  the  Report  of  the  Directors,  there  had  been  expended,  up  to 
December  1st,  1853,  $53,583  77,  and  $5817  received  for  copper  sold.  Occa- 
sional masses  of  copper,  of  some  size,  are  met  with  5  one  of  over  a  ton  in  weight 
was  taken  from  the  45-fathom  level.  Such  specimens  are,  unfortunately,  too 
rare  in  the  mine  to  warrant  the  expectation  of  profitable  working. 

Evergreen  Bluff  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  38,  Section  6,  northeast  quar- 
ter. Mining  operations  have  been  commenced  here,  during  the  past  winter,  on 
a  vein  which  is  represented  by  the  agent  as  2J  feet  wide.  From  it,  near  the 
surface,  a  number  of  small  masses  have  been  taken. 

At  several  points  in  this  vicinity,  mines  are  said  to  have  been  opened  during 
the  past  winter,  with  what  appearances  of  success  I  am  unable  to  state  with 
any  confidence. 

Minnesota  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Section  15.  The  property  origi- 
nally purchased  by  this  company,  being  the  north  half  of  an  original  3-mile 
square  lease  (location  No.  98),  consisted  of  about  3000  acres,  but  portions  of 
it  have  since  been  set  off  and  organized  into  companies,  called  the  Rocklaud, 
the  Flint  Steel,  and  the  Peninsula  Mining  Companies. 

The  Minnesota  Company  now  owns  2035  acres  of  land,  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  additional  wood  and  farming  land  having  been  recently  purchased.  The 
vein,  which  has,  until  now,  been  by  far  the  most  productive  one  in  the  Onto- 
nagon  region,  and  only  second  to  the  Cliff  Vein  on  Lake  Superior,  was  disco- 
vered in  the  winter  of  1847-8,  at  a  time  when  there  was  very  little  confidence 
felt  in  this  portion  of  the  Lake  country,  and  nothing  in  reality  had  been  done 
towards  developing  its  hidden  wealth.  It  is  to  Mr.  S.  0.  Knapp  that  the  credit 
of  this  discovery  belongs  j  and  it  was  indeed  an  important  one,  as  it  immedi- 
ately turned  the  attention  of  the  public  in  the  direction  of  the  Ontonagon  dis- 
trict, at  that  time  almost  abandoned. 

The  line  of  the  vein  was  very  strongly  marked  by  ancient  excavations,  which 
were  quite  perceptible,  even  under  a  covering  of  three  feet  of  snow.  Early  in 
the  summer  of  1848  one  of  the  principal  ones  was  opened,  and  found  to  be  26 
feet  deep  on  the  vein.  It  was  filled  with  an  accumulated  mass  of  clay,  sand, 
and  mouldering  vegetable  matter ;  but  on  penetrating  to  the  depth  of  18  feet, 


294 


MINNESOTA    MINE. 


a  mass  of  nearly  pure  copper,  weighing  over  six  tons,  was  met  with,  which  had 
been  raised  about  five  feet  from  its  native  bed  by  the  ancient  miners,  secured 
there  on  timbers  placed  under  it,  and  abandoned,  apparently,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  raising  it  to  the  surface.  This  mass  had  been  hammered  over  its 
whole  surface  until  it  was  entirely  smooth,  and  by  the  side  of  it  were  found 
large  quantities  of  stone-hammers  and  a  few  other  tools.  Of  course,  here  was 
pretty  strong  evidence  of  the  existence  of  copper  in  considerable  quantity,  and 
operations  were  immediately  commenced  by  Mr.  Knapp,  and  carried  on  with 
much  perseverance  and  energy. 

By  referring  to  the  accompanying  section  of  the  mine  (Plate  III.),  which 
represents  the  state  of  the  works  on  the  main  lode  in  January  1854,  a  good 
idea  may  be  obtained  of  their  position  and  extent.  Four  principal  shafts  are 
opened  on  the  vein,  following  its  inclination,  which  is,  at  shaft  No.  3,  64°  to  the 
north,  and  at  various  other  points  from  52°  to  55°.  The  dip  of  the  beds  of 
rock  in  the  vicinity  is  about  44° ;  thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  vein  must  cross 
them,  at  a  small  angle,  in  its  downward  course,  a  fact  of  the  highest  interest, 
since  it  makes  it  evident  that  this  is  a  true  vein,  although  it  coincides  in  its  line 
of  bearing  with  the  range  of  the  formation.  Its  course  is  north  65°  east,  and 
the  altitude  of  shaft  No.  4,  above  the  river,  at  the  saw-mill  of  the  Forest  Com- 
pany, is  given  by  Mr.  Merriwether,  by  whom  it  was  levelled  up,  as  645  feet. 

The  annexed  section  (Fig. 
29)  will  serve  to  represent 
the  dip  of  the  lode,  and  its 
position  with  regard  to  a 
conglomerate  and  sandstone 
belt  a  short  distance  south 
of  the  mine.  According  to 
the  dip  of  the  belt,  as  ob- 
served in  the  adit,  it  should 
intersect  the  lode  at  about 
40  fathoms  in  depth,  and 
this  point  has  already  been 
reached  in  one  of  the 
shafts,  as  I  am  informed, 
and  an  immense  mass  of 
copper  has  been  found 
there. 


\ 


\ 


Section  of  adit  and  shaft  No.  3,  Minnesota  Mine, 
stone;  c,  Conglomerate. 


s,  Sand- 


The  gangue  of  this  vein  is  chiefly  quartz,  calc.  spar,  and  epidote.  Fine  crys- 
tallizations of  the  two  former  minerals  are  obtained.  Large  crystals  of  quartz, 
terminated  with  the  usual  pyramid  at  both  ends,  have  been  frequently  met  with ; 
some  of  them  weigh  several  pounds.  They  are  usually  incrusted  with  delicate 
crystallizations  of  feldspar.  Calc.  spar  occurs  in  large  dog-tooth  and  rhom- 
bohedral  forms,  in  great  abundance,  sometimes  associated  with  crystallized  cop- 
per, so  as  to  form  specimens  of  great  beauty. 

The  walls  of  the  vein  are  in  general  well-defined,  although  in  some  places 
not  very  regular ;  they  are  usually  smooth,  and  sometimes  finely  smoothed  and 


296 


ROCKLAND    MINE. 


Near  shaft  No.  5,  there  was,  in  September  1853,  a  lode,  in  some  places  5 
feet  wide,  and  filled  for  a  distance  of  40  feet  with  an  almost  continuous  mass 
of  copper.  By  recent  letters  from  the  mine,  dated  March  15th,  1854,  I  learn 
that  in  drifting  between  shafts  No.  5  and  7,  the  lode  is  found  to  be  rich,  and 
carrying  masses  of  copper,,  with  considerable  silver ;  one  piece  of  the  latter 
metal  weighed  3  Ibs.  Stoping  has  also  been  commenced  near  shaft  No.  7. 

The  operations  of  this  mine  have  been  retarded  by  the  want  of  the  necessary 
machinery  and  fixtures.  It  was  only  in  September  last  that  a  winding-engine 
was  set  to  work,  and  instead  of  laying  down  tram-roads  in  the  shafts,  the  stuff 
is  hauled  up  in  kibbles,  at  a  great  loss  of  power,  and  wear  and  tear  of  the 
hoisting  machinery.  With  so  rich  a  vein  open  over  so  great  an  extent  of  ground, 
the  company  ought  to  be  producing  more  largely  than  at  present. 

Twelve  heads  of  stamps  are  at  work,  but  are  frequently  delayed  by  want  of 
water,  which  is  very  scarce  in  and  about  the  mine  in  dry  weather.  The  stuff 
stamped  is  said  to  yield  about  four  per  cent,  of  work,  worth  60  per  cent,  of 
fine  copper. 

The  annexed  table  will  give  as  correct  a  view  as  can  be  made  out,  from  the 
materials  on  hand,  of  the  operations  of  the  company  from  its  commencement 
up  to  the  present  time  : — 


Yield. 

Dividend. 

Stuff 

Per 

Amount 

Per 

Expended. 

shipped. 

cent. 

Amount. 

received. 

share.    Amount. 

1848, 

.  $14,000 

13,288  Ibs. 

75 

9,950  Ibs. 

Not  stated. 

1849, 

.    28,000 

102.679 

75 

77,000 

w 

1850, 

.    58,000 

198.614 

75 

150.000 

" 

1851, 

.    88,000 

513.599 

72 

369,800 

'• 

1852, 

.  123,144  31 

626,000 

74 

467,250 

$51,209  62 

1853, 

.  168,244  34 

1,490,000 

72 

1,075,633 

339,719  63 

1854, 

.  $30        S90.000 

Eockland  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Section  11.  This  property  ad- 
joins the  Minnesota  Mine  on  the  east,  and  was  set  off  from  their  location  in 
1853,  and  work  commenced  in  the  same  year.  It  was,  until  recently,  known 
as  the  Lake  Superior  Mine,  the  company  having  purchased  an  old  charter  of 
that  name. 

In  September  1853,  a  large  and  rich  lode  was  opened  here,  which  appeared 
to  be  identical  in  course  and  mineralogical  character  with  the  Minnesota  Vein. 
Two  shafts  were  commenced ;  also  an  adit,  which  was  intended  to  be  driven 
307  feet,  from  the  north,  and  to  intersect  the  vein  152  feet  from  the  surface. 
The  dip  of  the  lode  is,  near  the  surface,  48  J°,  and  its  whole  line  of  outcrop  is 
marked  by  numerous  ancient  excavations. 

Flint- Steel  River  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Sections  11  and  12. 
This  is  another  company  formed  on  the  location  originally  purchased  by  the 
Minnesota  Company.  The  vein  was  poor  when  I  examined  it  last  summer, 
but  since  that  time  large  masses  of  copper  are  said  to  have  been  found.  The 
principal  shaft  has  been  sunk  about  70  feet,  and  connects  with  the  adit  at  that 
depth. 

Peninsula  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Sections  15  and  16  (a  small 
fraction  at  the  southern  corner  of  these  two  Sections).  This  company  was 


FOREST    MINE.  297 

organized  in  1850,  and  a  vein  was  worked  to  some  extent  in  1851.  It  appears 
now  to  be  abandoned,  as  there  was  little  encouragement  to  go  on  with  it. 
6140  Ibs.  of  mass  and  barrel-work,  averaging  75  per  cent,  were  taken  from  it 
near  the  surface,  but  it  was  very  poor  at  some  depth. 

National  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Section  16.  This  company  was 
organized  in  1852,  and  commenced  operations  in  the  summer  of  that  year. 
Ancient  mine-work  was  discovered  to  have  been  carried  on  extensively  in  a 
vein  lying  between  the  belt  of  conglomerate,  seen  on  the  section  of  the  Min- 
nesota adit  (Fig.  29),  and  the  overlying  trap.  A  shaft  had  been  sunk  here  in 
former  times,  to  the  depth  of  about  50  feet,  on  the  lode.  It  had  become  filled  up 
with  clay,  sand,  and  vegetable  matter  ;  but,  on  cleaning  it  out,  the  remains  of 
stulls,  or  timbers  forming  a  scaffolding  across  the  shaft,  were  found,  and  a 
nearly  continuous  sheet  of  copper  down  its  side.  Workings  were  vigorously 
prosecuted  during  the  next  winter,  and  a  shipment  of  34,908  Ibs.  of  masses, 
and  46,406  of  barrel-work,  averaging  72  per  cent,  of  pure  copper,  was  made 
during  the  next  year. 

From  the  Report  of  the  Secretary,  dated  January  28th,  1854,  it  appears  that 
shaft  No.  1,  at  that  time,  was  169  feet,  and  No.  2,  157  feet  in  depth.  They 
are  connected  by  levels  39  feet  in  length.  The  first  level  is  at  72  feet  from  the 
surface,  and  above  it  most  of  the  ground  has  been  stoped  out,  and  yielded  richly 
in  copper.  The  second  level  is  about  95  feet  below  the  first.  Two  adits  are 
driving  on  the  lode  from  the  west  5  the  lower  one  will  give  a  back  of  about 
200  feet.  The  whole  amount  of  ground  stoped,  January  1st,  1854,  was  206 
fathoms  ;  ready  for  stoping,  2307  fathoms. 

The  position  of  this  vein  is  remarkable,  and,  up  to  the  time  of  its  discovery, 
entirely  unprecedented  on  Lake  Superior.  It  bears  all  the  marks  of  a  true 
vein,  so  far  as  regularity  is  concerned,  but  lies  between  two  dissimilar  forma- 
tions. The  amount  of  veinstone  connected  with  it  is  small ;  for  a  considerable 
part  of  the  distance  the  lode  was  almost  a  solid  sheet  of  copper,  of  3  or  4 
inches  in  thickness.  The  distance  through  which  this  productiveness  will 
continue  can  only  be  ascertained  by  the  development  of  the  mine,  but  as  large 
masses  have  been  found  in  the  same  position  at  the  Minnesota  Mine,  there  is 
every  reason  to  expect  a  considerable  extent  of  the  same  richness,  in  depth  as 
well  as  length. 

To  the  north  passes  the  line  of  the  Minnesota  Vein,  and  a  cross-cut  has 
been  extended  in  that  direction  183  feet;  at  130  feet  a  vein  of  spar,  quartz, 
and  epidote,  11  feet  in  width,  was  intersected,  and  was  supposed  to  be  the  one 
sought  for,  but  it  was  found  poor  in  copper  at  the  point  of  intersection.  It 
appears  that  there  was  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  identity  of  the  lode,  as  the 
cross-cut  has  been  continued  still  farther  to  the  north. 

Forest  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Section  30,  southwest  quarter. 
Very  extensive  excavations  had  been  made  on  this  tract  by  the  ancient  miners, 
and  quite  large  masses  of  copper  were  found  near  the  surface  in  cleaning  out 
the  old  workings,  of  which  there  were  four  parallel  rows  along  the  bluff,  ex- 
tending in  a  direction  of  about  north  64°  east.  One  mass  weighed  1800 
pounds.  Work  was  commenced  here  in  the  winter  of  1849-50,  and  several 
tons  of  copper  were  taken  from  near  the  surface,  where  the  vein  appeared 


298  NORWICH    MINE. 

quite  regular  and  well-defined.  The  principal  shaft  is  now  down  about  225 
feet,  and  two  others  have  been  sunk  to  nearly  the  same  depth.  The  principal 
levels  are  from  600  to  700  feet  in  length.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  mine,  the 
lode  is  quite  irregular,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  is  not  worthy  of  being 
stoped  ;  but,  as  the  workings  have  been  extended  westward,  its  appearance  has 
much  improved.  Evidently,  if  the  mine  is  to  be  worked,  the  openings  should 
be  pushed  to  the  west.  Here  there  is  a  single  wall,  against  which  the  copper 
is  accumulated,  sometimes  in  considerable  quantity,  and  through  a  space 
several  feet  in  width,  but  in  the  opposite  end  of  the  mine  it  is  not  possible  to 
say  that  any  regular  wall  exists.  The  copper  occurs  chiefly  associated  with 
epidote  and  calc.  spar,  and  sheets  of  from  one  to  three  inches  in  thickness, 
are  occasionally  met  with.  On  the  whole,  the  appearance  of  the  mine  has 
much  improved  in  the  last  year. 

Eight  heads  of  stamps  were,  until  recently,  in  operation,  but  the  stamping- 
mill  and  engine  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  March  last.  A  larger  engine  and 
an  increased  number  of  stamps  will  be  immediately  erected,  and  the  Superin- 
tendent expects  to  make  a  handsome  shipment  of  copper  during  the  present 
year.  In  1853,  73,702  Ibs.  of  masses,  barrel,  and  stamp-work  were  sent  to 
market.  The  average  cost  of  sinking  shafts,  in  1853,  was  $11  12£  per  foot; 
of  drifting,  $7  84;  and  of  stoping,  $24  12  per  fathom. 

Glen  Mining  Company.  T.  50,  R.  39,  Section  31,  west  half.  This  tract 
formed  a  part  of  the  original  purchase  of  the  Forest  Company,  and  was  set  off 
in  1852.  A  nearly  vertical  vein  has  been  opened  on  it,  which  is  about  12 
inches  wide,  and  carries  some  copper  in  a  gangue  of  calc.  spar  and  quartz. 
But  little  has  yet  been  done  here  or  on  the  other  half-sections  on  the  west, 
which  are  known  as  the  Shirley,  Devon,  and  Tremont  locations. 

Norwich  Mining  Company.  T.  49,  R.  41,  Section  2,  southeast  quarter.  A 
precipitous  trap  bluff  crosses  this  tract,  in  a  nearly  east  and  west  direction, 
rising  to  the  height  of  300  feet  above  its  base,  and  nearly  400  above  the  west 
branch  of  the  Ontonagon,  which  is  about  J  mile  south.  The  existence  of  the 
vein  here  has  been  known  since  1846,  but  it  was  not  worked  to  any  extent 
until  1850.  The  following  account  of  its  appearance  at  the  surface  was  written 
by  me  in  1847.*  li  The  course  of  the  vein  is  nearly  east  and  west,  and  it  dips 
from  47°  to  49°  to  the  north.  It  has  been  traced  for  a  considerable  distance 
along  the  brow  of  the  cliff,  and  found  to  vary  much  in  width  and  character. 
In  one  place  it  measured  12  inches  in  width,  and  consisted  of  partially  decom. 
posed  chlorite  and  epidote  ;  wall-rock  well-defined,  generally  separated  by 
selvages  of  chlorite  or  argillaceous  matter.  In  a  few  feet  distance,  the  vein 
narrows  down  to  three  inches,  and  consists  of  quartz,  with  radiated  epidote, 
and  native  copper  and  red  oxide,  with  a  curious  vermilion  hue,  and  much 
stained  with  carbonate  of  copper.  Farther  on,  the  vein  is  almost  entirely 
quartz  ;  here  they  have  taken  out  a  mass  of  copper  weighing  110  Ibs.  The 
occurrence  of  beautifully-radiated  epidote  seems  to  be  characteristic  of  this 
vein." 

The  present  state  of  the  workings  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  annexed 

*  Documents  accompanying  the  President's  Message,  1849-50,  vol.  iii.  p.  718. 


NORWICH    MINE. 


299 


section  (Fig.  31),  which  represents  the  amount  of  excavation  on  the  lode,  in 
February  1854. 

Fig.  31. 


Section  of  Norwich  Mine,  Feb.  1854. 

The  deep  adit  which  intersects  shaft  B  in  the  lower  level,  as  shown  in  the 
figure,  is  driven  from  the  base  of  the  bluff,  a  distance  of  439  feet.  The  length 
of  a  straight  line  drawn  from  the  upper  adit  to  the  lower,  at  their  points  of 
intersection  with  the  vein,  is  180  feet,  and  its  dip  is  61°.  The  underlay  of  the 
lode  gradually  decreases  in  this  distance  from  34°  to  23°,  so  that  it  forms  an 
arc  of  a  circle,  of  which  the  above  imaginary  line  is  the  chord.  The  adit-level 
commences  in  the  conglomerate  which  flanks  the  trap  range  on  the  south,  and 
has  afforded  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  section  of  the  junction  of  the 
two  formations.  For  24  feet  from  its  mouth,  the  rock  excavated  is  conglome- 
rate, without  any  recognizable  bedding ;  then  follows  sandstone  for  55  feet, 
which  shows  in  the  most  marked  manner  the  mechanical  action  by  which  the 
trap  was  uplifted.  It  is  broken  and  crushed  into  fragments,  which  afford  the 
most  evident  proofs  of  having  been  rubbed  against  each  other  with  immense 
force,  at  the  time  the  upheaval  took  place.  The  next  52 }  feet  are  occupied  by 
trap,  the  southern  portion  of  which  is  distinctly  observed  to  dip  to  the  south, 
although  evidently  much  crushed  and  dislocated  during  its  uplift,  while  the 
northern  half  has  a  steep  inclination  to  the  north.  Nothing  can  be  clearer 
than  the  evidence  which  is  here  afforded  of  a  fracturing  of  the  strata  and  an 
immense  mechanical  force  exerted  in  the  upheaval  of  their  northern  portion. 
At  about  130  feet  from  the  entrance  of  the  adit,  is  another  belt  of  sandstone, 
which  is  13  feet  thick,  and  has  apparently  the  regular  dip  of  the  beds  of  rock 
in  which  the  mine  is  wrought,  about  44°.  At  the  mean  inclination  of  the  lode, 
which  in  B  shaft  is  61°,  it  would  intersect  the  bed  of  sandstone,  which  dips 
at  47°,  at  900  feet  below  the  deep  adit,  measured  on  its  own  course ;  at  the 
inclination  which  it  has  at  the  adit,  65°,  it  would  meet  it  at  a  depth  of  700 
feet. 

The  vein  has  been  found,  in  many  places,  rich  in  copper,  in  masses  and 
sheets,  and  also  furnishing  good  stamp-work,  in  a  gangue  of  epidote  and 


300  WINDSOR  —  OHIO    TRAP-ROCK    MINE. 

quartz.  By  a  communication  recently  received  from  the  Superintendent,  A. 
C.  Davis,  Esq.,  dated  February  21,  1854,  it  appears  that  the  main  shaft,  B, 
has  been  sunk  58  feet  below  the  adit,  and,  in  that  distance,  4  tons  of  barrel- 
work  and  masses  were  taken  out.  In  the  stopes  going  on  west  of  the  shaft,  the 
lode  is  from  1  to  2£  feet  wide,  and  well  filled  with  copper.  Driving  east  from 
B  shaft,  the  lode  was  not  so  good  for  the  first  80  feet,  but  has  since  improved, 
and  mass  copper  is  in  sight  at  the  end  of  the  drift.  There  is  a  back  over  this 
level  of  134  feet. 

A  stamping-mill  was  erecting  at  the  time  I  was  at  the  mine,  in  Sept.  1853, 
and  is  probably  now  in  operation,  with  8  heads ;  12  more  to  be  added  as  soon 
as  possible. 

The  shipments  from  this  mine  amounted  in  1852  to  9054  Ibs.,  and  in  1853 
to  45,325  Ibs.  of  barrel  and  mass  copper,  which  would  probably  yield  60  per 
cent.,  or  over,  of  pure  copper.  From  the  size  and  regularity  of  the  lode,  and 
the  advantageous  manner  in  which  it  is  now  opened,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect 
a  considerably  increased  production  from  this  time  forward. 

Windsor  Mining  Company.  T.  49,  R.  41,  Section  12,  west  half.  The  vein 
here  is  in  the  same  position  as  the  one  just  described,  and  appears  to  be  a 
continuation  of  it.  It  is  opened  by  three  shafts,  the  deepest  of  which  is  down 
about  210  feet.  A  deep  adit  is  also  driving  from  the  base  of  the  bluff,  and 
will  intersect  the  lode  at  nearly  300  feet  from  the  surface.  The  appearance 
of  the  vein  was  quite  favorable  when  I  examined  it,  some  portions  being  from 
1  to  2  feet  wide,  with  good  stamp-work  and  some  masses.  Since  that  time,  as 
I  learn  by  a  letter  from  the  Superintendent,  Mr.  Plummer,  it  has  improved 
considerably,  and  a  mass  of  2  or  3  tons  has  been  found. 

In  driving  in  the  adit-level,  a  promising  vein  wras  intersected  470  feet  south 
of  the  one  previously  worked  on,  and  a  shaft  is  now  sinking  to  prove  it.  The 
appearances  here  are  decidedly  favorable  for  successful  mining. 

Ohio  T)*ap-Rock  Mining  Company.  This  company  commenced  operations  in 
1846,  and  up  to  September  1853,  about  $90,000  had  been  expended  with  but 
little  returns  of  copper.  Several  different  veins  or  courses  of  epidote,  carrying 
some  metal,  have  been  opened.  From  the  Superintendent's  Report,  dated 
July  6,  1853,  it  appears  that  there  were  at  that  time  3  shafts  on  the  "  Indian 
Diggings  Lode,"  the  deepest  of  which  was  down  234  feet,  and  the  two  others 
each  100  feet.  The  character  of  the  lode  is  said  to  be  very  variable,  and  it 
appears  that  but  little  excepting  stamp-work  had  been  taken  from  it.  "  Park's 
Lode"  has  one  shaft  on  it  100  feet  deep.  The  "  New  Lode,"  which  is  repre- 
sented as  2  feet  wide  and  carrying  good  stamp-work,  is  opened  by  two  shafts 
recently  commenced,  at  a  distance  of  320  feet  apart.  The  company  intended 
to  put  up  24  heads  of  stamps,  to  work  out  the  copper  from  the  large  amount 
of  stamp-stuff  now  at  the  surface. 

Sharon  Mining  Company.  T.  49,  R.  41,  Section  9,  southeast  quarter.  I 
have  not  examined  this  location  ;  but,  according  to  Mr.  Davis,  the  Superin- 
tendent, a  shaft  has  been  sunk  90  feet  on  a  good  lode  from  6  to  18  inches 
wide,  and  well  filled  with  stamp-work,  with  a  few  pieces  of  barrel-copper. 
Another  shaft  is  down  26  feet,  at  a  distance  of  150  feet  from  the  first  men- 


PORTAGE    LAKE    DISTRICT.  301 

tloned,  and  a  level  driving  to  connect  them  at  90  feet  depth.  Work  has  been 
recently  commenced  on  another  vein,  560  feet  farther  south,  which  is  said  to 
be  from  2  to  4  feet  wide,  and  to  contain  a  fair  amount  of  copper. 

There  are  numerous  other  localities  west  of  the  Norwich 
Mine  where  mining  operations  have  been  commenced  on  a 
small  scale,  but  as  I  have  never  visited  them,  and  as  they 
have,  as  yet,  made  no  shipments,  I  will  not  attempt  to  give  an 
account  of  them.  Several  of  the  veins  are  described  as  pre- 
senting favorable  indications  for  successful  working,  but  the 
remoteness  of  their  locality,  and  the  bad  state  of  the  roads, 
will  operate  strongly  against  these  mines,  until  the  compa- 
nies shall  have  acquired  sufficient  confidence  in  their  value 
to  unite  in  building  a  good  plank-road  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Ontonagon,  a  distance  of  about  25  miles. 


POllTAGE    LAKE    DISTRICT. 


The  opening  of  this  district  of  the  Lake  Superior  region 
is  by  no  means  a  recent  event,  as  mines  have  been  worked 
there  since  1846 ;  but  it  was  not  until  1852  that  the  attention 
of  the  public  was  called  to  it  in  any  marked  degree.  As  yet, 
the  mines  are  not  sufficiently  developed  to  enable  a  very  de- 
cided opinion  to  be  formed  as  to  their  probable  permanent 
success,  especially  as  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  copper 
is  quite  peculiar  to  the  district.  There  appear  to  be  few,  if 
any,  regular  veins,  but  the  metal  is  found  disseminated,  mostly 
in  small  masses  and  barrel  and  stamp-work,  through  certain 
metalliferous  beds,  which  run  with  the  formation,  and  differ 
very  slightly  in  composition  from  the  other  trappean  beds 
with  which  they  are  associated.  Such  a  mode  of  occurrence 
is  not  wholly  without  analogies  in  the  Lake  Superior  district, 
since,  as  has  been  seen  in  the  description  of  the  Ontonagon 
region,  there  are  localities  there  where  the  copper  is  irregu- 
larly disseminated  through  certain  beds  of  rock,  without  any 
appearance  of  a  vein-fissure,  or,  in  some  cases,  even  of  vein- 
stone. In  the  vicinity  of  Portage  Lake,  however,  these 
metalliferous  beds  appear  to  have  a  much  greater  degree  of 
regularity,  and  are  neither  broken  up  nor  deranged  in  their 
course,  and  their  metalliferous  contents  are  more  uniformly 


302  ISLE    ROY  ALE    MINE. 

distributed  through  them  than  on  the  Ontonagon.  In  some 
instances,  the  same  bed  has  been  distinctly  traced  for  a  mile 
or  more,  by  a  line  of  ancient  excavations,  and,  wherever 
opened,  found  to  contain  copper  disseminated  through  it. 

A  large  number  of  mines  have  commenced  work  within 
the  past  year,  and,  according  to  the  statements  of  those 
interested,  several  of  them  will  make  considerable  shipments 
of  copper  during  the  present  season. 

There  are  at  least  twelve  companies  now  at  work  in  this 
district,  employing  a  force  of  about  400  men,  and  expending 
from  $30,000  to  $40,000  monthly.  "With  this  energetic 
development  of  its  metalliferous  deposits,  the  question  of 
their  importance  \\;ill  soon  be  settled. 

Isle  Roycde  Mining  Company.  T.  54,  R.  34,  Section  1,  northwest  quarter. 
Operations  were  commenced  here  in  May  1852,"  and  I  visited  the  place  about 
three  months  later.  At  that  time,  a  row  of  ancient  pits  had  been  traced  for 
a  mile  on  the  line  of  the  metalliferous  bed,  which  bears  about  north  62°  east. 
A  shaft  had  been  sunk  for  a  few  feet,  from  which  a  considerable  quantity  of 
copper  had  been  taken.  It  appeared  to  lie  in  an  amygdaloidal  belt  of  rock, 
of  a  light-brown  color,  with  patches  of  veinstone,  principally  epidote,  quartz, 
calc.  spar,  arid  Prehnite,  scattered  through  it.  According  to  Mr.  Hill,  who 
examined  it  during  the  past  winter,  this  bed  is  distinctly  defined,  being 
flanked  on  both  sides  by  a  gray  trap.  The  dip  is  about  60°,  and  it  is  as  even 
in  its  bearing  and  thickness  as  a  belt  of  sandstone  under  the  same  circum> 
stances  would  be. 

The  two  principal  shafts  were,  at  that  time,  down  to  the  second  level,  150 
feet  from  the  surface ;  they  were  connected  by  a  level  200  feet  in  length, 
and  stoping  was  going  on  above  it.  Three  other  shafts  have  also  been  com- 
menced, whose  aggregate  depth  was,  in  February  last,  490  feet,  and  802  feet 
had  been  drifted. 

From  the  shafts  sunk  and  levels  driven,  a  large  quantity  of  copper  has  been 
taken,  mostly  in  the  form  of  barrel-work,  or  small  pieces  which  could  be 
cleared  of  the  rock.  Shipments  were  made  last  season  of  31,783  Ibs.,  which 
yielded  18,738  Ibs.  of  pure  copper,  or  58'9  per  cent.  This  amount  has  been 
shipped  without  any  stamping  having  been  done ;  but  preparations  are  now 
making  to  erect  an  engine  capable  of  driving  48  heads. 

If  the  copper  is  found  to  hold  in  sinking  on  this  bed,  it  will  be  capable  of 
furnishing  a  very  Targe  amount  of  that  metal,  and  we  may  soon  expect  to  see 
it  rivalling  with  the  most  productive  mines  of  Lake  Superior. 

Portage  Mining  Company.  T.  55,  R.  34,  Section  36,  southwest  quarter. 
According  to  C.  H.  Palmer,  Esq.,  this  company  is  working  principally  on  the 
"  Portage  Vein,"  which  runs-parallel  with  the  "  Isle  Royale  Vein,"  at  a  dis- 


ALBION  —  QUINCY    MINE.  303 

tance  of  200  feet  west  of  it.  They  are  in  every  respect  similar  to  each  other. 
The  metalliferous  bed  is  from  10  to  15  feet  in  width. 

Six  shafts  have  been  begun,  4  on  the  Portage  Vein,  and  2  on  the  Isle 
Royale ;  their  aggregate  depth  amounted,  in  February  last,  to  478  feet,  and 
510  feet  of  drifting  had  been  done  at  the  same  time.  Mining  was  commenced 
in  November  1852,  and  during  the  season  of  1853,  a  shipment  of  about 
10,000  Ibs.  of  barrel-work  was  made,  and  several  hundred  tons  of  stamp-work 
are  at  the  surface. 

Montezuma  Mining  Company.  T.  55,  R.  34,  Section  35,  southeast  quarter. 
Work  was  commenced  here  in  September  1853.  Two  shafts  are  sinking,  and 
an  adit  driving  from  the  Lake  on  the  course  of  the  vein. 

Albion  Mining  Company.  T.  55,  R.  34,  Section  36,  southeast  quarter. 
Operations  were  commenced  here  by  the  company  in  August  1853,  they 
having  discontinued  their  mine  near  the  Eagle  River,  and  removed  to  this 
place.  The  Isle  Royale  and  Portage  Veins  extend  through  a  corner  of  the 
quarter  section.  Three  shafts  have  been  commenced  on  the  latter,  whose 
aggregate  depth  was,  in  February  last,  237  feet.  I  have  no  information  as  to 
the  amount  of  copper  contained  in  the  vein  at  this  point. 

Quincy  Mining  Company.  T.  55,  R.  34,  Section  26.  "Work  was  first  com- 
menced here  as  far  back  as  1846  or  1847  ;  but  little  was  done  until  1851.  In 
1852,  numerous  excavations  had  been  made,  but  had  not  succeeded  in  de- 
veloping anything  of  value.  A  vein,  bearing  about  north  25°  east,  had  been 
driven  on  for  a  distance  of  120  feet,  at  a  depth  of  about  80  feet,  the  vein 
being  pretty  distinctly  marked,  and  well  filled  with  copper,  but  narrow. 
Another  shaft  was  sunk  90  feet  on  the  plane  of  contact  of  two  amygdaloidal 
beds  of  rock,  near  which  considerable  copper  was  found  disseminated. 

According  to  Mr.  Palmer,  valuable  discoveries  have  been  made  on  this 
location  during  the  past  winter. 

In  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  different  mining  districts  of 
the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  most  of  the  working 
mines  have  been  noticed ;  and,  in  order  to  present  at  one 
view  the  progress  of  the  development  of  this  region,  the 
following  table  is  appended,  in  which  the  product,  in  pure 
copper,  of  all  the  mines  for  each  year,  is  given  in  tons  (2240 
Ibs.),  from  1845  to  the  end  of  1853. 

From  all  the  principal  mines  pretty  accurate  returns  have 
been  received,  both  of  the  amount  of  the  shipments  and  the 
yield  of  metallic  copper ;  and  although,  in  the  case  of  some 
of  the  less  important  ones,  it  has  been  necessary  to  estimate 
the  percentage  of  the  mixed  copper  and  rock  sent  to  the 
smelting-works,  yet  it  is  believed  that  the  table  can  be  relied 
on  as  a  near  approximation  to  the  truth. 


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NORTH  SHORE  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.       305 

There  are  now  about  75  mines  at  work,  employing  in  and 
about  them  2800  men,  and  the  product  of  pure  copper  for 
1854  may  be  estimated  at  2000  tons. 

The  whole  amount  of  money  expended  in  the  Lake  Supe- 
rior region,  from  its  opening  up  to  December  31st,  1853,  I 
have  estimated,  from  all  the  data  which  can  be  collected,  at 
$4,800,000 ;  and  the  value  of  the  copper  produced,  at  an 
average  price  of  25  cents  per  pound,  equals  $2,700,000; 
of  this,  $504,000  has  been  divided  among  stockholders,  and 
the  remainder  has  been  applied  to  the  development  of  the 
mines. 

Of  the  capital  thus  invested  in  the  country,  a  considerable 
portion  has  been  expended  in  opening  mines  which  may 
reasonably  be  expected  to  become  profitable  to  the  adven- 
turers, and  some  of  which  will  make  large  shipments  during 
the  present  year,  and  probably  show  a  balance  of  profits  on 
the  year's  transactions ;  a  very  considerable  amount  was, 
however,  irrevocably  sunk  during  the  first  years  of  specula- 
tion and  foolish  excitement.  But  even  at  the  present  very 
moderate  prices  of  Lake  Superior  copper  stocks,  their  actual 
cash  value  considerably  exceeds  the  whole  amount  which  has 
been  expended  there.  The  mines  of  this  region  have  a 
character  of  permanence,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  their  product  will  go  on  regularly  increasing,  as  it  has 
done  in  the  eight  years  since  mining  operations  may  be  said 
to  have  fairly  commenced. 

The  trap  range  extends  into  Wisconsin,  and  has,  at  various 
times,  been  examined  by  the  geologists  of  the  United  States 
Survey  of  that  state,  and  by  other  explorers.  The  results,  up 
to  this  time,  have  been  entirely  negative ;  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  learn,  there  are  no  veins  of  copper  beyond  the 
borders  of  Michigan  which  promise  to  become  of  value. 

NORTH  SHORES  OP  LAKE  SUPERIOR  AND  LAKE  HURON. 

Numerous  companies  have  been  formed  at  various  times 
for  working  copper  mines  on  the  north  shores  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior and  Lake  Huron,  within  the  Canadian  limits,  but  only 
one  has  as  yet  proved  successful.  The  attempts  at  mining 
which  have  been  made  were  in  the  trappean  rocks,  analo- 

20 


306      NORTH  SHORE  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

gous  in  geological  position  to  those  of  the  southern  shore, 
and  also  in  the  rocks  of  the  azoic  period.  It  is  only  in  the 
latter  that  they  have,  thus  far,  given  encouraging  results. 

The  character  of  the  rocks  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Lake 
has  not  yet  been  thoroughly  investigated  ;  but,  from  a  hasty 
survey,  during  the  last  summer,  of  a  part  of  the  region  which 
lies  to  the  north  of  Isle  Royale,  it  appears  to  me  probable 
that  the  trappean  rocks  which  form  the  lofty  cliffs  of  Pie 
Island,  Thunder  Cape,  and  the  numerous  islands  in  that 
vicinity,  are  the  counterpart  of  those  of  the  South  Range  of 
Keweenaw  Point.  No  workings  are  now  going  on  here; 
but  from  1846  to  1849  a  powerful  vein  was  worked  on  Spar 
Island  and  the  mainland  opposite,  at  Prince's  Bay.  The 
vein  on  Spar  Island  has  a  course  of  north  32°  west,  and  is 
made  up  almost  entirely  of  calc.  spar,  heavy  spar,  and  quartz, 
and  is  14  feet  wide  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  island,  where 
it  forms  a  conspicuous  object,  contrasting  strongly  with  the 
dark-colored  trap,  and  being  visible  from  the  Lake  at  a  great 
distance  out.  It  contains  a  little  yellow  sulphuret  of  copper 
and  variegated  ore,  and  two  shafts  have  been  sunk  on  it  to 
the  depth  of  47  and  24  feet.  The  quantity  of  ore  is  too 
small  for  working.  On  the  mainland  the  same  vein  appears, 
having  a  more  quartzose  gangue,  and  carrying  sulphuret  of 
zinc  principally,  with  native  silver  in  pockets.  Splendid 
crystallizations  of  amethystine  quartz  and  calc.  spar  have 
been  obtained  here.  The  vein  has  been  opened  on  the  main- 
land by  sinking  and  driving,  at  a  very  heavy  expense,  as  the 
body  of  the  lode  consists  of  crystallized  quartz.  A  bunch 
of  calc.  spar  and  blende,  rich  in  native  silver,  was  struck 
near  the  surface,  at  the  collar  of  the  deepest  winze,  and  led 
to  unbounded  expectations  on  the  part  of  the  shareholders, 
which  were  unfortunately  destined  to  be  entirely  disap- 
pointed. 

A  number  of  localities  were  formerly  explored  and  worked 
to  some  extent  on  Michipicoten  Island  and  on  the  north- 
eastern side  of  the  Lake,  but  they  are  now  all  abandoned. 
The  "  Quebec  and  Lake  Superior  Mining  Association"  com- 
menced operations  in  1846  at  Pointe  aux  Mines,  Mica  Bay, 
on  a  vein  said  to  be  two  feet  wide  and  rich  in  gray  sulphuret 


BRUCE    MINE.  307 

of  copper.  An  adit  was  driven  200  feet,  three  shafts  sunk, 
and  the  10-fathom  level  commenced.  Smelting  furnaces 
were  erected,  and,  after  £30,000  had  been  expended,  it  seems 
to  have  been  discovered  that  there  was  no  ore  to  smelt,  and 
the  works  were  abandoned. 

The  mines  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Huron  are  in  a  for- 
mation consisting  of  white,  and  often  vitreous,  sandstone  or 
quartz  rock,  passing  into  a  jasper  conglomerate,  and  inter- 
stratified  with  heavy  masses  of  trap.  These  are  supposed 
by  Mr.  Logan,  the  Provincial  Geologist,  to  be  of  the  same 
age  as  the  copper-bearing  rocks  of  Lake  Superior,  and  he 
remarks  that  the  chief  difference  seems  to  lie  in  the  great 
amount  of  amygdaloidal  trap  present  in  the  latter  formation, 
and  of  white  quartz  rock  in  the  former.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  however,  of  the  identity  in  age  of  the  sandstones 
and  conglomerates  of  Keweenaw  Point  with  those  extending 
ajong  the  shore  of  the  Lake  on  both  sides  of  the  Point,  and 
recognized  by  Mr.  Logan  himself  at  Saut  Ste.  Marie  as  of 
the  age  of  the  Potsdam  Sandstone ;  and  the  same  beds  are 
recognized  in  their  continuation  east  as  being  deposited  un- 
conformably  on  the  cupriferous  beds  of  the  northern  shore  of 
Lake  Huron.  Hence  the  inference  is  unavoidable,  that  these 
latter  are  older  than  those  of  Lake  Superior.  This  is  corro- 
borated by  the  fact,  that  in  the  Lake  Huron  mines  the  ores 
are  entirely  sulphurets,  and  principally  copper  pyrites,  asso- 
ciated with  a  gangue  of  quartz,  differing  wholly  in  these 
respects  from  those  of  the  really  productive  part  of  Lake 
Superior. 

The  Bruce  Mine  is  the  only  one  now  working  on  Lake 
Huron,  and  this  company  has  been  quite  successful,  and 
might  have  been  much  more  so  had  proper  discretion  been 
used  in  its  management.  The  vein  was,  from  the  beginning, 
worked  with  an  entire  want  of  mining  skill ;  during  the 
first  year  an  open  cut  was  made,  which  was  126  feet  long 
and  5  feet  deep ;  from  this  excavation  240  tons  of  ore  were 
taken.  Afterwards  much  money  was  thrown  away  in  costly 
machinery  not  at  all  adapted  to  use  in  that  region. 

The  mine  is  situated  about  50  miles  below  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 
and  due  north  of  the  extremity  of  St.  Joseph's  Island.  The 


308      COPPER    ORES    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 

vein  was  discovered  in  1846,  and  is  contained  in  a  dark- 
colored  hornblende  trap  ;  the  ore  is  chiefly  copper  pyrites, 
with  some  variegated  ore.  The  deepest  shaft  was  down,  in 
1853,  51  fathoms,  and  the  vein  was  then  3  feet  in  width,  and 
well  filled  with  ore  disseminated  through  quartz.  Very  ex- 
pensive smelting  works  have  been  erected  here,  but  have 
proved  a  great  source  of  loss  and  embarrassment  to  the  com- 
pany, as  the  ore  can'  be  transported  almost  from  the  mouth 
of  the  mine  to  Swansea,  all  the  way  by  water,  without  trans- 
shipment. 

The  entire  amount  of  ore  raised  at  this  mine  I  have  not 
been  able  to  ascertain,  but  it  is  very  considerable.  During 
the  year  1853,  1650  tons  were  shipped,  and  sold  mostly  in 
New  York,  netting  to  the  company  £22,586  currency.  A 
dividend  was  paid  of  5s.  per  share  on  45,402  shares,  during 
the  past  year. 

This  is  truly  a  valuable  mine,  and  should  produce  largely ; 
indeed,  it  appears  that  within  the  past  year  a  new  order  of 
things  has  commenced,  and  the  expectations  of  the  company 
that,  hereafter,  300  tons  of  ore  per  month  will  be  shipped, 
seem  likely  to  be  realized. 

There  were  several  other  companies  located  on  the  north 
side  of  Lake  Huron,  but  I  know  of  none  now  at  work  ex- 
cept the  Bruce.  The  success  of  the  latter  will  probably  in- 
duce those  claiming  or  owning  property  in  the  vicinity,  to 
cause  more  thorough  explorations  to  be  made  on  their  terri- 
tories. The  Wallace  Mine,  16  miles  from  La  Cloche,  a 
station  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  is  said  to  have  fur- 
nished copper  pyrites  resembling  that  of  the  Bruce  Vein, 
and  also  nickel  and  cobalt  ores  of  considerable  richness. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  resuscitate  this  concern,  which  be- 
longs to  the  Upper  Canada  Mining  Company,  in  1853,  but 
with  what  success  I  have  not  heard. 

COPPER   DEPOSITS    OP   THE    MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 

Under  this  head  are  included  numerous  cupriferous  de- 
posits which  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  without  notice,  but 
which  are  of  little  practical  importance.  They  occur  almost 


WISCONSIN.  309 

entirely  in  the  limestones  of  the  Lower  Silurian  formation, 
or  at  the  junction  of  these  rocks  with  the  azoic.  Nowhere, 
so  far  as  my  observations  have  extended,  do  they  form  any- 
thing like  true  veins,  nor  have  they  been  wrought  in  mines 
of  any  considerable  extent.  They  are  not  unfrequently 
found  in  connection  with  the  lead  ores  of  the  West,  which 
they  somewhat  resemble  in  their  mode  of  occurrence. 

WISCONSIN. — The  copper  of  this  state  occurring  in  the 
trap  range  has  already  been  noticed ;  the  ores  included  in 
the  group  now  under  consideration  are  those  which  have 
been  discovered  far  to  the  south  of  any  igneous  rocks. 
These  were  considered  by  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen  to  be  of  conside- 
rable importance,  and  he  remarks  in  the  report  of  his  explo- 
rations made  in  1839,*  that  were  it  not  for  the  superior  rich- 
ness and  value  of  the  lead,  the  great  staple  of  the  territory, 
they  would  attract  much  attention.  This  opinion,  however, 
could  not  have  been  based  on  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  cupriferous  deposits.  From  a  slight  examination 
of  the  region  in  which  the  principal  localities  of  ore  are 
situated,  I  cannot  anticipate  that  they  will  ever  become  of 
importance. 

The  copper  ores  occur  chiefly  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Mineral  Point,  on  what  was  known  as  the  "  Ansley  Tract." 
According  to  J.  T.  Hodge,  Esq.,f  who  made  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  this  region  in  1841,  with  a  view  to  the  development 
of  its  resources  by  eastern  capital,  the  ore  at  that  locality 
occupies  a  fissure  in  the  limestone  (Lower  Silurian),  14  feet 
in  width  at  the  surface,  and  which  had  been  traced  a  quarter 
of  a  mile.  For  about  the  depth  of  15  feet,  the  fissure  was 
found  to  be  filled  with  gossan,  together  with  lumps  of  sul- 
phuret  and  carbonate  of  copper,  of  all  sizes,  up  to  200  pounds 
in  weight.  Below  that  depth  was  clay,  with  a  little  ore  scat- 
tered through  it.  About  1J  million  of  pounds  are  said  to 
have  been  taken  from  this  fissure,  of  which  50,000  Ibs.  were 
sent  to  England  to  be  smelted,  and  brought  in  a  bill  of  ex- 
pense to  the  shippers.  The  ore  was  a  mixture  of  sulphuret 

*  Report  of  a  Geological  Exploration  of  Part  of  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Illinois, 
&c.  Senate  Doc.  1844,  p.  48. 
Sill.  Am.  Jour,  xliii.  38. 


310  COPPER     ORES     OF    MISSOURI. 

and  carbonate,  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  copper 
pyrites. 

The  character  of  the  formation  in  which  these  ores  are 
found,  and  the  almost  certainty  of  the  fissures  terminating, 
or  being  found  barren  of  ore,  in  the  underlying  sandstone, 
which  is  only  a  little  more  than  100  feet  from  the  surface, 
are  sufficient  reasons,  in  my  opinion,  why  these  cupriferous 
deposits  should  be  considered  as  of  little  value. 

MISSOURI. — The  copper  ores  of  Missouri,  so  far  as  I  have 
had  an  opportunity  to  observe,  are  of  about  as  little  import- 
ance as  those  described  in  Wisconsin.  In  travelling  through 
a  part  of  the  metalliferous  region  of  that  state,  in  1852, 1  was 
unable  to  find  a  single  locality  where  any  considerable  amount 
of  ore  was  being  raised. 

The  ores  of  copper,  as  well  as  those  of  lead,  cobalt,  nickel, 
&c.,  found  at  numerous  points  in  this  state,  are  contained  in 
the  Lower  Silurian  strata,  which  have  been  deposited  in  pre- 
viously existing  depressions  of  the  azoic  rocks.  The  latter 
formation,  consisting  principally  of  granite  and  porphyry, 
often  appears  at  the  surface,  as  if  the  overlying  sedimentary 
deposits  had  undergone  a  great  amount  of  denudation ;  hence 
the  valleys  are  frequently  underlaid  by  the  stratified  sand- 
stones and  limestones,  while  the  elevations  and  ridges  consist 
of  igneous  rocks,  which  evidently  were  nearly  in  their  present 
position  at  the  time  of  the  deposition  of  the  overlying  strata, 
as  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  latter  having  been  upheaved  or 
metamorphosed  by  the  adjacent  igneous  masses. 

There  are  several  localities  known  as  having  yielded  more 
or  less  copper  ore.  Among  them  is  the  famous  Mine  La 
Motte,  which  has  a  historic  celebrity  vastly  beyond  what  its 
real  importance  entitles  it  to.  There  are  numerous  so-called 
mines  within  the  property,  which  includes  24,000  acres ;  but 
the  only  place  where  any  work  worth  noticing  was  doing  in 
1852,  was  the  locality  called  the  "Philadelphia  Mine." 
Here  the  sandstone  and  limestone  are  deposited  upon  the 
granite,  which  would  be  reached  by  sinking  only  a  few  feet, 
were  the  works  to  be  extended  in  depth.  The  metalliferous 
deposit  forms  a  bed  which  lies  between  a  stratum  of  sandstone 
and  another  of  a  hard,  crystalline  limestone,  and  occupies  a 


CURRENT    RIVER.  311 

width  of  from  12  to  18  inches.  It  consists  of  a  blue  slaty 
substance,  in  which  galena  is  enclosed  in  flat  sheets,  asso- 
ciated with  ores  of  cobalt  and  nickel,  in  &  pulverulent  state. 
The  copper  pyrites  occurs  in  patches  in  the  fissures  of  the 
limestone,  disseminated  through  a  thickness  of  six  or  eight 
feet.  This  metalliferous  stratum  forms  a  lenticular  mass, 
dipping  at  a  small  angle  each  way  from  its  centre,  and  ap- 
pearing to  be  a  few  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  The  position 
of  the  ores  in  relation  to  each  other  is  not  constant  through- 
out the  mine.  I  could  obtain  no  statistics  of  the  yield  of  this 
mine,  at  which  six  or  eight  men  were  employed ;  but  at  all 
events,  the  copper  ores  will  never  be  found  to  be  of  any 
value.  At  the  time  of  the  first  discovery,  in  1838,  some 
thousands  of  pounds  of  ore  were  taken  out,  and  about  that 
time  a  vigorous  attempt  was  made  to  raise  the  capital  to  carry 
on  mining  operations  here  in  a  scientific  way,  but  it  has  had 
no  result.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Hodge's  visit,  in  1841,  several 
other  localities  on  the  Mine  La  Motte  tract  were  wrought  to 
some  extent,  for  cupriferous  ores,  but  nothing  was  doing  on 
them  in  1852. 

Near  Fredericton,  about  1J  miles  south  of  the  village,  a 
copper  mine  was  formerly  worked  in  a  coarse-grained  crys- 
talline limestone,  containing  geodes  of  pearl-spar  and  nodules 
of  iron  pyrites.  There  appear  to  be  a  few  strings  and  bunches 
of  copper  ore  irregularly  scattered  through  the  rock. 

Mr.  Hodge  also  visited  the  so-called  copper  region  of  Cur- 
rent River,  in  Shannon  County,*  a  rough,  uninhabited  coun- 
try, where,  up  to  this  time,  no  mining  worthy  of  the  name 
has  been  done.  The  ores  appear  to  be  contact  deposits,  be- 
tween Lower  Silurian  rocks,  similar  to  those  occurring  at 
Mine  La  Motte,  and  a  reddish,  quartzose  porphyry,  of  azoic  age. 
They  are  evidently  similar  in  origin  and  character  to  those 
just  described,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  infer  from  Mr. 
Hodge's  description  of  them,  that  they  are  likely  to  be  profita- 
bly worked. 

There  are  probably  numerous  localities,  besides  those 
above  cited,  both  in  this  and  in  the  other  Western  States, 

*  Sill.  Am.  Jour,  xliii.  65. 


312   COPPER  MINES  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  STATES. 

where  copper  ores  occur  in  a  position  similar  to  that  above 
indicated ;  but  the  records  of  mining  throughout  the  world 
will  not  justify  the  expenditure  of  any  considerable  amount 
of  capital  in  developing  such  cupriferous  deposits  contained 
in  the  unaltered  sedimentary  rocks.  They  cannot  be  relied 
on  as  being  of  any  permanent  value. 

CUPRIFEROUS  DEPOSITS  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  STATES. 

The  first  group  of  this  section  comprehends  the  deposits 
of  copper  ores  included  in  the  so-called  metamorphic  rocks, 
or  the  crystalline  schists  and  associated  igneous  masses, 
which  extend  along  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Appalachian 
chain,  from  Vermont  to  Georgia. 

These  deposits,  wherever  examined,  are  found  to  exhibit 
a  striking  similarity  to  each  other;  they  are  never  found 
occurring  in  well-developed  transverse  or  fissure-veins ;  or, 
at  least,  such  have  never  come  under  my  observation.  They 
all  form  masses  parallel  with  the  formation,  and  possessing 
all  the  characteristics  of  segregated  veins ;  or  if,  as  is  occa- 
sionally the  case,  apparently  crossing  the  strata  at  an  angle, 
such  branches  will  be  found  subordinate  to  segregated 
masses,  and  not  exhibiting,  in  an  unmistakable  manner, 
the  phenomena  of  fissure-veins.  The  ores  thus  occurring 
are  almost  always  pyritous,  with,  occasionally,  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  variegated ;  and  they  do  not  usually  appear  to  be 
oxidized  to  any  considerable  depth  from  the  surface.  Some- 
times specular  and  magnetic  oxides  of  iron  form  the  out- 
crop of  the  vein,  and  are  replaced  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
beneath  by  ores  of  copper.  On  the  southwestern  side  of 
the  Appalachian  chain,  in  Tennessee,  this  decomposition  and 
the  formation  of  gossan  has,  however,  taken  place  on  a  large 
scale ;  in  other  respects  the  deposits  of  the  ores  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  eastern  slope,  except  that  they  are  on  a  scale 
of  greater  magnitude. 

But  few  of  the  very  numerous  localities  which  are  known 
to  exist  have  yet  been  worked  to  any  extent ;  and  it  is  only 
within  the  last  year  that  the  attention  of  the  public  has  been 
called  to  them.  The  mining  enterprises  thus  commenced 
are  generally  only  in  a  ^state  of  preparation,  and  complete 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  313 

data  for  a  description  of  what  is  now  doing  in  the  way  of 
developing  the  mines  of  the  Atlantic  slope,  scattered  as  they 
are  over  such  an  extent  of  country,  are  not  easily  to  he 
procured.  Most  of  the  important  localities  known  will  he 
mentioned,  and  more  or  less  fully  described,  in  the  following 
pages. 

MAINE. — Copper  pyrites  is  spoken  of  hy  Dr.  C.  T.  Jack- 
son, State  Geologist,  as  occurring  at  Dexter,*  in  small 
quantity,  in  quartz  veins ;  at  Lubec,  with  galena,  at  the  so- 
called  "  lead  mines ;"  and  at  Parsonsfield. 

None  of  the  localities  seem  to  present  any  inducements 
for  working. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. — The  localities  of  copper  pyrites  in  this 
state  are  somewhat  numerous,  but  none  of  them  have  been 
worked  to  any  extent. 

Orford,  Lyme,  and  Jackson  are  mentioned  in  the  Report 
of  the  State  Geologist  as  containing  localities  where  copper 
pyrites  has  been  found,  but  no  particulars  as  to  the  value  of 
the  deposits  are  given.  The  same  ore  is  found  in  small 
quantity  at  the  Shelburne  Lead  Mine.  At  Haverhill,  on 
the  estate  of  Mr.  Francis  Kimball,  between  the  Great  and 
Wild  Ammonoosuc  Rivers,  occurs  a  vein  of  quartz,  from 
one  to  four  inches  wide,  containing  bunches  of  copper 
pyrites. f  Veins  of  copper  pyrites  occur  in  Franconia,  said, 
by  the  State  Geologist,  to  be  "  six  or  eight  inches  wide,  but 
too  narrow  for  profitable  mining."  The  same  ore  is  found 
in  Eaton,  and  a  vein  opened  for  a  few  feet,  "  but  the  vein  is 
too  narrow,  and  the  copper  ore  too  rare  for  profitable 
mining."  The  same  is  said  of  small  veins  of  this  ore  found 
in  Canaan,  and  which  continue  into  Grafton.  In  Bath  is  a 
vein  on  the  estate  of  H.  Lang,  which  runs  north  50°  west, 
with  the  formation,  and  is  from  four  to  eight  inches  wide. 
The  locality  is  recommended  by  Dr.  Jackson  as  worthy  of 
being  wrought.  The  principal  locality  of  copper  in  this 
state  is  at  Warren,  where  it  occurs  in  a  bed  of  tremolite,  of 
over  50  feet  in  width,  enclosed  in  mica  slate.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  work  this  bed  about  twelve  years  since,  but  it 

*  Third  Annual  Report,  p.  83. 

f  Final  Report  on  Geol.  of  New  Hampshire,  p.  G5. 


314  COPPER    ORES    IN    VERMONT. 

seems  to  have  been  abandoned,  owing  to  the  ore  being  too 
much  scattered  through  the  rock.  Dr.  Jackson  remarks 
that  he  has  no  doubt  that  this  mine,  if  wrought  with  eco- 
nomy and  skill,  will  prove  profitable.*  The  ore  is  much 
mixed  with  blende  and  iron  pyrites,  and  the  average  yield  of 
the  bed  is  not  known,  but  seems  to  be  quite  too  low  for 
working.  The  explorations  at  the  time  of  my  visit  (1840) 
had  not  been  sufficient  to  make  it  possible  to  say  whether 
the  locality  was  of  value.  There  are  several  copper-bearing 
veins  in  this  neighborhood,  which  should  be  explored.  At 
Unity,  on  the  farm  of  James  Neal,  is  a  vein  of  iron  and 
copper  pyrites,  running  with  the  stratification,  and  which 
has  been  traced  for  over  2000  feet,  with  a  width  of  1  to  3 
feet.  By  my  analysis  the  ore  yielded  nearly  12  per  cent,  of 
copper,  and  the  locality  may  be  one  of  some  value.  Nothing 
had  been  done  in  1840  towards  developing  it. 

VERMONT.  —  Several  localities  are  mentioned  by  Prof. 
Adams,  State  Geologist,  as  containing  copper  pyrites.  At 
Plymouth,  pulverulent  green  carbonate  is  found,  with  par- 
ticles of  vitreous  ore.  In  Corinth  is  a  locality  where  copper 
pyrites  has  been  found,  along  a  line  bearing  north  10°  west, 
for  a  distance  of  200  rods.  On  the  hill  the  vein  is  more  than 
a  foot  wide,  and  the  ore  free  from  iron.  A  considerable 
quantity  of  it  has  been  sent  to  the  Revere  Copper  Company's 
works  in  Boston.  Prof.  Adams  considers  the  locality  as 
valuable,  and  it  is  understood  that  operations  have  just  been 
commenced  here  by  a  New  York  company. 

Rev.  Z.  Thompson  states  that  in  1829,  a  furnace  was 
erected  at  Strafibrd,  for  the  purpose  of  smelting  the  copper 
pyrites  which  occurs  there  mixed  with  the  sulphuret  of  iron. 
This  latter  mineral  has  been  extensively  worked  for  cop- 
peras, and  its  quantity  is  very  great.  If  the  percentage  of 
copper  is  considerable,  it  might  be  worked  with  profit,  but 
the  undertaking  proved  a  failure,  whether  from  want  of 
knowledge  of  smelting,  or  from  the  poverty  of  the  ore,  does 
not  appear. 

MASSACHUSETTS.  —  Copper  pyrites  and  variegated  copper 

*  Report,  p.  151. 


CONNECTICUT.  315 

ore  occur  in  small  quantity  in  veins  which  have  been  worked 
to  some  extent  for  lead,  in  Northampton  and  Southampton. 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  exists  in  sufficient 
abundance  to  be  profitably  mined. 

The  other  localities  of  these  ores  in  the  state,  although 
somewhat  numerous,  are  not  proved  to  be  of  any  importance. 

CONNECTICUT. — One  of  the  most  extensive  copper  mines  in 
the  country  exists  at  Bristol,  where  workings  were  com- 
menced about  1836.  According  to  Prof.  C.  U.  Shepard,* 
the  rocks  are  micaceous  gneiss,  talcose  slate,  and  a  decom- 
posing granite,  having  a  general  northeast  and  southwest 
direction.  The  ore  at  the  surface  was  mostly  variegated 
copper.  From  Prof.  Shepard's  description,  there  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  at  that  time  any  evidence  of  a  fissure- 
vein,  and  this  appears  also  to  have  been  demonstrated  by 
the  result  of  the  workings,  which,  although  extensive,  have 
not,  on  the  whole,  proved  profitable. 

From  the  Superintendent,  H.  H.  Sheldon,  Esq.,  I  learn  that  this  mine  has 
produced  over  $200,000  worth  of  copper  since  it  was  first  opened;  and  that  it 
has  yielded  to  its  present  proprietors,  since  January  1848,  1600  tons  of  ore, 
averaging  32  per  cent,  of  copper,  and  valued  at  $172,810  58.  The  extent  of 
ground  opened  by  shafts,  levels,  and  winzes,  is  about  930  fathoms.  With  the 
present  arrangements  for  crushing  and  washing,  26  tons  of  30  per  cent,  ore 
are  now  shipped  monthly,  but  as  soon  as  the  new  machinery  is  completed,  a 
large  increase  upon  this  amount  is  expected.  There  are  52  persons  employed 
in  and  about  the  mine. 

A  deposit  of  malachite,  in  the  town  of  Manchester,  has 
been  worked  at  intervals,  unsuccessfully,  since  the  middle  of 
the  last  century.  It  occurs  in  gneiss,  in  which  specular  iron 
and  iron  pyrites  are  also  disseminated.f  Copper  pyrites 
occurs  in  numerous  localities.  According  to  Prof.  Shepard's 
Report,  the  most  favorable  indications  of  this  ore  are  those 
found  at  the  topaz-vein  in  Trumbull,  which  he  thinks  may 
become,  at  some  future  day,  a  mining  district  of  considerable 
importance.  Other  localities  where  pyritiferous  ores  have 
been  found,  but  in  small  quantity,  are,  in  Orange,  at  Lam- 
bert's Mine,  where  it  was  worked  to  some  little  extent,  and 

*  Report  on  Geol.  Survey  of  Conn.,  p.  46.  f  Shepard's  Rep.,  p.  49. 


316  COPPER    ORES    IN    NEW    YORK. 

with  apparent  improvement  in  depth ;  at  Litchfield,  Ply- 
mouth, Mine  Hill  in  Roxbury,  Chaplin,  Westfield  in  Kil- 
lingly,  and  in  Griswold.  It  is  also  found  at  the  Middletown 
Silver-Lead  Mine,  but  not  yet  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  of 
any  considerable  importance.  Prof.  Shepard  predicts  the 
ultimate  discovery  of  rich  copper  mines  in  Connecticut,  and 
refers  especially  to  the  topaz  and  fluor  veins  of  Trumbull, 
the  mine  at  Bristol,  the  Roxbury  Mine-Hill  Veins,  as  well  as 
to  the  lead  mines  generally,  in  the  primitive  (metamorphic 
palaeozoic),  all  of  which  contain  copper. 

Within  a  short  time,  several  companies  have  been  formed 
to  work  copper  mines  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bristol,  Litch- 
field, and  Plymouth ;  a  reasonable  sum,  judiciously  applied 
to  the  development  of  some  of  the  metalliferous  deposits  of 
this  district,  may  lead  to  valuable  discoveries  ;  but  it  will  be 
unfortunate  for  the  adventurers  if  they  are  misled  into  the 
belief  that  any  of  these  localities  are  likely  to  prove  profitable 
at  great  depths,  when  there  is  nothing  like  a  good  vein  within 
a  reasonable  distance  from  the  surface. 

NEW  YORK. — The  number  of  different  localities  in  this 
state  where  traces  of  copper  ore  have  been  found,  is  quite 
considerable,  but  there  is  no  one  which  is  now  mined  to  any 
extent. 

At  Sparta,  a  lode  six  inches  wide  was  worked,  some  years 
ago,  to  the  depth  of  40  or  50  feet,  by  a  company  chartered 
in  New  York ;  but  the  results  were  unfavorable. 

At  the  Ancram  Lead  Mine,  traces  of  copper  pyrites  are 
found ;  also  at  Northeast,  associated  with  lead  ore,  in  some 
quantity.*  Other  localities  are,  New  Canaan,  in  Columbia 
County,  and  Austerlitz. 

At  the  Ulster  Lead  Mine,  copper  pyrites  occurs  in  con- 
siderable quantity  with  the  galena,  and  forms  an  item  of 
some  consequence  in  the  produce  of  the  mine.  A  sale  of  50 
tons,  of  24-3  per  cent,  ore,  is  reported  in  1853. 

PENNSYLVANIA. — There  are  numerous  localities  where  cop- 
per ores  have  been  found,  as  well  in  the  metamorphic  rocks 
as  in  the  New  Red  Sandstone  formation.  None  of  those  in 
the  former  position  have  been  worked  with  any  success. 

*  Mather's  Report,  p.  500. 


PENNSYLVANIA  —  MARYLAND.          317 

The  Gap  Mine,  in  Lancaster  County,  was  first  opened  in 
1732,  and  afterwards  taken  up  by  another  company  in  1797, 
and  again  much  more  recently,  by  a  company  which  made 
large  expenditures ;  but  it  has  never  been  worked  with  suc- 
cess or  profit. 

At  the  Elizabeth  Mine,  near  Pottstown,  a  shaft  has  been 
sunk  to  the  depth  of  180  feet,  in  a  bed  of  coarsely  crystallized 
calc.  spar,  containing  a  little  blende,  sulphuret  of  copper, 
and  specular  iron ;  but  the  appearances  are  not  promising. 

The  only  copper  mines  of  any  importance  now  wrought  in 
the  state,  are  those  of  Chester  and  Montgomery  Counties, 
which  will  be  noticed  farther  on. 

MARYLAND. — Several  mines  have  been  opened  in  this  state, 
and  more  or  less  extensively  worked  for  copper.  Those  in 
the  vicinity  of  Liberty  and  New  London,  Frederick  County, 
are  the  best  known.  Of  these,  Dr.  Ducatel,  State  Geologist, 
remarks  as  follows  :* 

"  Copper  ores  were  also  extensively  raised  in  the  neighborhood  of  Liberty 
Town,  but  the  old  works  are,  at  present,  abandoned.  New  operations  have 
since  been  commenced  at  two  other  places  in  this  section  of  the  country,  which 
deserve  especial  mention.  The  most  extensive  are  those  near  New  London, 
where  extensive  operations  are  carried  on.  The  ore  is  a  sulphuret  of  copper, 
occasionally  mixed  with  the  green  carbonate,  and  is  embedded  in  a  mixed 
rock  of  talcose  slate  and  limestone.  The  perpendicular  shaft  sunk  in  pursuit 
of  these,  is  114  feet  deep ;  but  the  ore  is  now  worked  in  two  drifts,  one  to  the 
east  and  the  other  to  the  west,  the  former  to  the  extent  of  17,  the  latter  of  50 
feet.  The  character  of  the  ore,  associated  with  porous  quartz,  and  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  veins  of  nearly  uniform  width,  being  interrupted  only  occa- 
sionally by  masses  of  limestone,  are  believed  to  give  a  sufficient  promise  that 
satisfactory  results  may  be  expected  hereafter." 

At  that  time,  22  persons  were  employed  at  the  New  London  Mine,  which 
was  worked  by  Isaac  Tyson,  Jr.  It  is  now  abandoned. 

Dolly-Hide  Mine. — Dr.  Ducatel  refers  to  another  mine,  now  the  Dolly-Hide, 
in  the  following  words :  "  The  other  copper  mine  referred  to  as  worthy  of  in- 
vestigation, is  near  Liberty  Town,  on  the  farm  of  Capt.  Richard  Coale.  Shafts 
have  been  sunk  20  to  40  feet.  The  ore  is  a  mixture  of  oxide  of  iron,  a  little 
manganese,  copper-black,  and  carbonate  of  copper,  the  last  forming  two-thirds 
of  the  whole,  in  weight.  It  is  soft  and  friable." 

This  mine  was  worked  at  intervals,  up  to  1846,  when  it  was  leased  to  Isaac 
Tyson,  Jr.,  and  is  now  worked  by  a  company  incorporated  in  Maryland,  and 


*  Geological  Report,  for  1839,  p.  22. 


318 


COPPER    MINES    IN    MARYLAND. 


Fig.  32. 


called  the  "Dolly-Hide  Copper  Company,"  with  a  capital  of  $600,000.  The 
published  reports  give  the  whole  quantity  of  ore  raised  from  1842  up  to  May 
1853,  as  191,933  Ibs.,  average  22^f  per  cent.,  and  127  tons  of  "black  dirt," 
average  1  Of  per  cent,  of  copper. 

From  various  reports,  and  especially  a  manuscript  one  by  0.  Dieffenbach, 
kindly  placed  at  my  disposal  by  Dr.  F.  A.  Genth.  it  is  evident  that  there  is  no 
vein  here,  but  a  broad  band  of  crystalline  limestone,  which,  where  best  de- 
veloped, is  100  feet  thick,  and  contains  numerous  segregated  parallel  layers  of 
ore,  mixed  with  quartzose  matter,  colored  brown  by  iron,  manganese,  and  cop- 
per. The  rock  on  each  side  of 
the  limestone  belt  is  an  argil- 
laceous and  talcose  slate.  The 
annexed  section  (Fig.  32), 
from  the  printed  prospectus  of 
the  company,  will  serve  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  position  of  the 
ore,  which,  according  to  Mr. 
Dieffenbach,  is  mainly  the  va- 
riegated, with  some  copper 
pyrites.  Argentiferous  galena, 
containing  45  to  50  oz.  of  sil- 
ver to  the  ton,  also  occurs,  in 
quantity  increasing  in  depth. 
The  "  black  dirt"  is  a  product 
of  decomposition  of  these  ores. 
From  the  printed  report  of 
this  company,  it  appears  that 
the  mine  produced,  from  1842  to  1853,  about  33  tons  of  metallic  copper. 

The  working  of  this  mine  had,  until  recently,  been  exceedingly  faulty,  owing 
partly  to  the  abundance  of  water,  and  the  ore  which  had  been  raised  had  been 
taken  from  small  pits  sunk  only  to  the  water-level.  Under  the  present  manage- 
ment, the  mine  appears  likely  to  be  thoroughly  tested  ;  but  as  there  is  evidently 
no  vein  here,  too  much  caution  cannot  be  used  in  speaking  of  its  probable  suc- 
cess ;  so  long  as  ore  can  be  found  in  sufficient  quantity  to  pay  for  mining,  the 
work  may  be  prosecuted,  but  it  would  be  attended  with  loss  should  it  be  carried 
on  solely  in  the  expectation  of  a  richer  and  more  abundant  yield  at  a  great  depth. 

The  Dolly-Hide,  Old  Liberty,  and  New  London  Mines, 
seem  to  be  all  identical  in  character. 

There  is  another  metalliferous  belt  in  the  vicinity  of  Sykes- 
ville,  which  includes  the  Springfield,  Carroll,  Mineral  Hill, 
and  Patapsco  Mines,  and  is  of  considerable  interest.  These 
mines  lie,  in  the  order  named,  in  a  line  running  from  the 
southwest  towards  the  northeast,  and  about  ten  miles  in 
length.  The  rocks  are  talcose,  chloritic,  and  hornblende 


100  feet.     . 


Section  of  the  Dolly-Hide  Cupriferous  Bed. 


SPRINGFIELD    AND    MINERAL    HILL    MINES.       319 

slates,  and  the  veins  belong  to  the  segregated  class,  being 
parallel  with  the  formation. 

Springfield  Copper  Mine.  This  mine,  according  to  a  manuscript  report  of 
Mr.  0.  Dieffenbach,  is  situated  in  Carroll  County,  about  one  mile  north  of  the 
Sykesville  Station  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  At  this  point  the  vein 
runs  north  25°  east;  it  underlays  13°  to  the  southeast  for  the  first  60  feet, 
then  descends  nearly  vertically  for  40  feet,  then  underlays  8°  to  northwest  for 
a  depth  of  100  feet,  and  from  that  point,  so  far  as  it  has  been  opened,  a  depth 
in  all  of  240  feet,  it  descends  perpendicularly.  The  vein  is  20  to  24  feet  wide 
at  the  surface,  and,  in  depth,  never  falls  below  6  feet.  At  the  surface,  and  for 
a  depth  of  60  feet,  it  consists  of  quartzose,  magnetic,  and  specular  oxides  of 
iron.  Here  copper  ores  begin  to  be  found  disseminated  in  the  vein,  and  the 
quantity  increases  with  the  depth.  Copper  pyrites  predominates,  with  some 
variegated  ore  :  iron  pyrites  is  also  invariably  found  in  the  vein,  and  is  some- 
times auriferous.  There  are  also  traces  of  cobalt  and  nickel,  and  some 
branches  of  the  vein  carry  ores  containing  4  to  5  per  cent,  of  these  metals. 
The  workings  are  extended  to  a  depth  of  240  feet,  the  water  being  pumped 
by  a  steam-engine  up  to  the  adit-level,  which  drains  the  mine  at  a  depth  of  90 
feet,  and  is  500  feet  in  length.  The  accessible  workings  consist  of  three  levels 
driven  at  the  depths  of  90,  110,  and  170  feet  respectively,  and  which  are  con- 
nected  by  winzes. 

This  vein  was  first  worked  by  Mr.  Tyson  as  an  iron  mine,  to  supply  the  Elba 
furnace  with  ore,  and  it  was  in  sinking  the  main  shaft,  for  the  purpose  of  find- 
ing better  iron  ore,  that  the  copper  was  found  sparsely  disseminated  through 
the  vein.  The  cupriferous  ores  grew  richer  as  the  work  descended ;  at  a  depth 
of  from  90  to  100  feet,  they  yielded  from  10  to  13  per  cent,  of  metal ;  at  150 
to  160  feet,  from  12  to  15  per  cent.,  and  at  the  greatest  depth  yet  reached  they 
have  increased  in  richness  to  18  or  20  per  cent.  Up  to  this  time  150  tons  of 
ore  have  been  raised,  in  addition  to  that  obtained  in  sinking  and  driving ;  and? 
according  to  Mr.  Dieffenbach,  the  operations  are  now  conducted  with  energy, 
and  a  good  prospect  of  success. 

Mineral  Hill  Mine.  This  mine  is  six  miles  northeast  of  Sykesville.  Old 
workings  exist  here,  and  the  occurrence  of  ore  at  this  place  has  been  known 
for  more  than  a  century.  There  are  four  veins,  of  which  three  are  now  worked  ; 
they  are  parallel  with  each  other,  and  run  north  15°  east.  The  rock  in  which 
they  occur  is  a  talcose  and  chloritic  slate.  One  of  them  appears  to  be  a  fahl- 
band  of  slate,  impregnated  with  pyritous  copper  and  small  bunches  of  cobalt 
ore.  The  three  others  carry,  at  their  outcrops,  magnetic  and  specular  ores  of 
iron,  in  which  traces  of  gold  have  been  found  ;  and  as  the  depth  to  which  they 
are  worked  increases,  they  become  more  and  more  intermixed  with  copper 
pyrites  and  variegated  ore. 

The  mine-work  thus  far  consists  of  three  shafts,  the  deepest  of  which  is  sunk 
250,  and  the  others  160  and  90  feet,  between  which  levels  are  driven  at  100 
and  160  feet.  Out  of  the  stopes  above  these  drifts  100  tons  of  15  to  20  per 
cent,  ore  have  been  taken,  in  addition  to  15  or  20  tons  raised  in  sinking  and 
driving. 


320  COPPER    MINES    IN    NORTH    CAROLINA. 

VIRGINIA.  —  Copper  pyrites  occurs  in  many  localities,  in 
connection  with  the  auriferous  iron  pyrites  of  the  gold  mines, 
hut  in  none  of  them  has  it  yet  heen  found  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity to  he  of  any  importance,  so  far  as  I  have  heen  ahle  to 
learn.  One  or  two  mines  were  formerly  worked  to  some  ex- 
tent for  copper  in  this  state,  hut  the  Manassas  Gap  Mine,  in 
Fauquier  County,  ahout  70  miles  from  Alexandria,  appears 
to  he  the  only  one  which  is  at  present  of  any  importance. 

Manassas  Copper  Mining  Company.  From  the  report  of  Prof.  B.  Silliman, 
Jr.,  made  April  18th,  1853,  it  appears  that  there  are  three  veins  which  have 
been  opened  on  to  some  extent.  The  map  accompanying  the  printed  report 
indicates  two  groups  of  veins,  in  one  of  which  are  three  lodes  parallel  with 
each  other,  and  with  the  formation,  which  are  marked  as  carrying  pyritous 
copper  5  of  the  other  group  are  two,  which  are  called  red  oxide  veins  ;  one  has 
a  course  of  north  30°  east,  parallel  with  the  strike  of  the  slates  in  which  it  is 
enclosed,  and  the  other  runs  north  70°  east,  intersecting  it  at  an  angle  of  30° 
or  40°.  This  cross-vein  has  been  cut  in  a  trial-shaft,  at  a  small  depth  (not 
given),  and  found  to  be  from  10  to  12  feet  thick  and  dipping  about  62°,  while 
the  slates  are  said  by  Prof.  Silliman  to  dip  nearly  vertically. 

These  veins  are  well  situated  for  drainage  by  a  deep  adit-level,  and  if  it  is 
the  object  of  the  company  to  test  them  thoroughly,  such  a  work  should  be  exe- 
cuted. The  ore  is  said  by  Prof.  S.  to  be  both  abundant  and  rich,  the  best 
specimens  yielding  75  per  cent,  of  pure  copper. 


CAROLINA.  —  Within  the  last  year  a  very  considera- 
ble amount  of  capital  has  heen  invested  in  the  mines  of  this 
state,  with  the  view  of  working  them  for  copper  as  well  as 
for  gold.  At  the  present  stage  of  their  development,  it 
would  he  hazardous  to  pronounce  positively  that  they  will 
prove  remunerative,  hut  there  can  he  no  douht  that  copper 
ores  are  widely  distributed  through  the  state,  and  that  a 
considerable  increase  of  our  production  of  this  metal  may 
be  looked  for  from  the  development  of  its  mines,  provided 
they  are  worked  with  skill  and  economy. 

North  Carolina  Copper  Company.  This  is  the  principal  copper  mine  thus 
far  opened  in  the  state,  and  has  produced  considerable  ore.  It  is  situated 
about  nine  miles  from  Greensboro,  in  Guilford  County,  and  was  formerly 
worked  for  gold,  and  known  as  the  Fentress  or  Stitlrs  Mine.  In  1852,  it  was 
purchased  by  a  New  York  company,  and  has  been  wrought  by  them  for  cop- 
per only.  The  cupriferous  deposit  has  a  direction  parallel  with  that  of  the 
slates  iii  which  it  is  enclosed,"  nearly  north  30°  east  ;  its  dip,  which  at  the 
surface  is  only  15°,  gradually  increases,  and  is,  at  70  feet  in  perpendicular 


'CULLOCK    MINE. 


321 


Fig.  33. 


depth,  about  45°.  The  ore  is  almost  solely  pyritous  copper,  associated  with 
some  sulphuret  of  iron.  It  is  said,  on  good  authority,  that  there  is  a  large 
quantity  of  ore  exposed  in  this  mine,  but  the  workings  have  thus  far  been 
conducted  with  an  entire  want  of  judgment,  the  only  aim  seeming  to  be  to 
raise  as  much  ore  as  possible  immediately,  without  regard  to  the  future  of  the 
mine.  It  is  stated  by  the  parties  interested  in  this  concern,  that  they  are  now 
raising  100  tons  a  month  of  25  per  cent,  ore,  but  no  official  statements  of  the 
produce  of  the  mine  have  been  published. 

In  almost  all  the  old  gold  mines,  more  or  less  copper 
pyrites  is  found,  and  the  quantity  of  this  valuable  ore 
which  has  been  worked  for  gold,  and  then  rejected,  is  said 
to  have  been,  at  some  localities,  very  considerable.  Some  of 
these  have  been  noticed  in  a  former  part  of  this  work.*  At 
the  time  I  visited  the  region 
most  of  the  mines  were  in 
such  a  state  that  no  opinion 
could  be  formed  of  the 
amount  of  copper  present 
in  the  veins,  or  whether 
they  would  become  of  per- 
manent value  for  this  metal 
at  some  depth.  Almost  all 
those  who  have  visited  the 
region  more  recently,  con- 
cur in  the  opinion  that  it  is 
destined  to  be  of  great  value 
for  copper  as  well  as  for 
gold.  Some  of  the  mines  which  are  specified  as  promising 
well  for  copper,  are,  the  Conrad  Hill  Mine  in  Davidson ;  the 
Yanderburg,  Phrenix,  Long  and  Muse's,  and  the  Fink 
Mines,  in  Cabarrus ;  the  M'Cullock  Mine,  in  Guildford; 
and  the  Khea  and  Cathay  Mines  in  Mecklenburgh  County. 

The  position  of  the  copper  ore  in  the  M'Cullock  Mine 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  annexed  section  of  the  vein  (Fig. 
33).  The  pyrites  is  disseminated  in  white  quartz,  which 
overlies  a  thick  band  of  almost  solid  iron  pyrites ;  beneath 
this  is  a  bed,  of  irregular  thickness,  of  decomposed  ferrugi- 
nous matter,  rich  in  gold. 


Section  of  the  vein  at  the  M'Cullock  Mine. 


*  See  pages  129  to  133. 
21 


322 


COPPER    MINES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


At  Pioneer  Mills,  in  Cabarrus  County,  the  new  copper  ore 
discovered  by  Dr.  Genth,  and  called  by  him  Barnhardtite, 
was  first  found.  It  seems  to  occur  not  unfrequently  in  the 
copper-bearing  veins  of  ]N"orth  Carolina. 

TENNESSEE. — The  cupriferous  deposits  of  Tennessee,  which 
have  recently  excited  so  much  interest,  are  situated  in  the 
extreme  southeastern  corner  of  the  State,  in  Polk  County,  near 
the  Ocoee  River,  and  about  thirty-five  miles  from  the  nearest 
station  of  the  East  Tennessee  Railroad.  The  ores  are  con- 
tained in  micaceous  and  talcose  slates  of  Lower  Silurian  age, 
but  which  are  so  metamorphosed  as  not  to  be  referable  to  any 
subdivision  of  the  system.  They  dip  at  a  high  angle  to  the 
southeast,  and  have  a  course  of  north  20°  east.  There  are 
two  great  metalliferous  beds  parallel  with  each  other  and 
with  the  strike  of  the  slates ;  they  have  been  traced  from  the 
Ocoee  River  north  for  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles,  and 
are  about  half-a-mile  distant  from  each  other.  At  the  time 
I  visited  this  district,  a  year  ago,  the  western  vein  only  had 
been  opened  to  any  extent ;  on  the  eastern  one  explorations 
were  commencing  at  several  points. 

Throughout  the  whole  extent  of  their  course,  wherever 
opened,  these  veins  present  a  remarkable  uniformity  of 

appearance.  The  surface  is 
marked  by  a  heavy  outcrop  of 
gossan,  which  is  particularly  con- 
spicuous along  the  summits  of 
the  ridges,  where  the  ground  of- 
ten appears  covered  with  masses 
of  ferruginous  material,  over  a 
width,  in  some  places,  of  at  least 
a  hundred  feet.  On  penetrating 
beneath  the  surface,  the  section 
represented  in  the  annexed 
figure  (Fig.  34),  is  obtained. 
Beneath  the  gossan  is  found  a 
bed  or  mass  of  black  cupriferous 
ore,  of  variable  thickness  and 

Section  of  East  Tennessee    copper  vein:    width.         This,     aS     Well     aS     the 
a,  gossan;  6,  black  ore;  c,  undecomposed  .       .,  ,.        n    .,          1 

poriionoflhevein;    delates.  gOSSan,  IS  the    TCSUlt  of  the   de- 


Fig.  34. 


HIWASSEE    MINE.  323 

composition  of  an  ore  consisting  originally  of  a  mixture  of  the 
sulphurets  of  iron  and  copper,  which  were  associated  with  a 
quartzose  gangue.  The  place  of  the  bed  of  copper  ore  marks 
the  limit  of  the  decomposition  of  the  vein ;  beneath  it,  the 
ore  exists  in  its  original  condition.  The  depth  to  which  de- 
composition has  extended  is  variable,  and  identical  nearly  with 
the  level  at  which  water  is  found.  On  the  ridges  it  varies 
from  80  to  90  feet,  in  the  valleys  it  is  considerably  less,  pro- 
bably not  more  than  20  to  30  feet  on  an  average.  The  black 
ore  is  analogous  to  the  "  copper  smut,"  or  "copper  black," 
which  occurs  so  commonly  in  cupriferous  veins,  but  I  have 
never  seen  it  in  so  extensive  deposits  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world.  It  is  a  mixture  of  black  oxide  of  copper  with  the 
sulphuret  and  some  silicious  or  earthy  matter.  There  is  also 
considerable  sulphuret  of  iron,  in  small  crystals  and  fragments, 
scattered  through  it,  as  well  as  some  sulphate  of  copper,  and 
perhaps  a  little  manganese.  Its  yield,  as  prepared  for  ship- 
ment, is  from  20  to  25  per  cent.,  although  it  varies  very 
much  in  its  composition  in  different  parts  of  the  same  mine. 

The  thickness  of  the  veins,  from  the  decomposition  of 
whose  ores  this  black  mass  has  originated,  is  in  some  places 
enormous.  At  one  place  in  the  Hiwassee  Mine,  the  body  of 
black  ore  was  stated  to  be  45  feet  in  width,  and  the  veins 
are  said  in  some  places  to  expand  to  much  greater  dimensions. 
The  thickness  of  the  black  ore  is  equally  irregular  with  its 
width.  In  some  places  it  is  accumulated  in  conical  masses 
from  which  many  hundred  tons  of  ore,  nearly  pure,  are 
taken.  When  the  veins  were  first  opened,  I  estimated  its 
average  width  on  the  whole  extent  of  the  vein  at  10  feet,  and 
its  thickness  at  2,  remarking  that  it  would  probably  not  fall 
below  those  dimensions.  What  the  results  of  farther  ex- 
plorations along  the  line  of  the  veins  have  been,  within  the 
last  year,  I  have  not  been  informed. 

The  facility  with  which  the  black  ore  may  be  mined  is 
great,  as  little  blasting  is  required.  Shafts  may  be  sunk  in 
the  gossan  without  being  timbered,  and  the  ore  may  be  taken 
out  with  a  pick  and  shovel,  and  is  so  wide  that  several  men 
can  work  abreast  in  the  levels  driven  on  it.  The  position  of 
the  ridges  affords  great  facilities  for  driving  in  levels  trans- 


324          COPPER    ORES    IN    NEW    RED    SANDSTONE. 

versely  to  the  veins,  through  which  the  ore  can  be  brought 
to  the  surface. 

There  has  been  hardly  any  attempt,  as  yet,  to  develop  the 
veins  below  the  line  of  the  black  ore.  At  the  Hiwassee  and 
Tennessee  Mines,  they  had,  a  year  ago,  sunk  a  few  feet  in  a 
hard  quartzose  rock,  carrying  a  good  deal  of  iron  pyrites  and 
some  copper  ore ;  but  not  enough  of  the  latter  to  constitute 
a  workable  ore.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe,  however, 
that  farther  explorations  will  develop  valuable  bunches  of 
copper  pyrites,  and  to  this  the  attention  of  holders  of  pro- 
perty in  this  region  should  be  directed ;  since,  although  the 
quantity  of  black  ore  which  may  be  taken  out  is  very  large, 
yet  the  time  will  come  when  it  will  be  exhausted,  and  the 
mines  must  depend  for  their  permanent  value  on  the  deve- 
lopment of  the  pyritiferous  ore  in  the  solid  portion  of  the 
veins. 

Several  companies  have  commenced  work  in  this  region, 
within  the  last  year,  besides  the  Hiwassee  and  Tennessee 
Companies,  which  have  been  mining  since  1852.  The  latter 
has  made  one  or  more  dividends  from  the  proceeds  of  its 
sales.  The  Hiwassee  Company  sold,  in  1853,  380  tons  of 
ore,  averaging  about  25  per  cent,  of  copper.  From  18  to  20 
laborers  of  the  vicinity  are  employed,  about  8  of  whom  are 
engaged  in  mining.  It  is  their  intention,  the  new  road 
through  the  valley  of  the  Ocoee  to  Cleaveland,  Tenn.,  haying 
been  completed,  to  forward  300  tons  of  ore  per  month. 

The  present  great  disadvantages  under  which  these  com- 
panies labor  are,  the  cost  of  forwarding  the  ore,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  procuring  the  necessary  teams  to  transport  it  to  the 
railroad  or  the  Hiwassee  Eiver.  It  is  understood  that  a  fur- 
nace is  to  be  erected  at  the  mines,  by  which  the  ores  will  be 
reduced,  and  the  product  shipped  in  the  form  of  a  regulus 
containing  70  or  80  per  cent,  of  copper. 

Several  English  companies  are  said  to  have  purchased  pro- 
perty on  the  line  of  these  veins ;  but  I  am  unable  to  give 
any  particulars  of  their  movements. 

COPPER  ORES  IN  THE  NEW  RED  SANDSTONE. 

Having  thus  noticed  the  principal  localities  of  copper  ores 


CONNECTICUT    MINES.  325 

in  the  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  Appalachian  chain,  we  will 
proceed  to  describe,  briefly,  the  deposits  in  the  sandstones 
and  associated  trappean  rocks,  which  are  known  in  the  At- 
lantic States  as  the  "  New  Red  Sandstone."  This  formation 
is  principally  developed  in  the  Connecticut  River  Valley, 
and  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  where  it  occupies  a  belt  of 
about  thirty  miles  in  width.  It  extends  south,  along  the 
flanks  of  the  Appalachian  chain,  gradually  thinning  out, 
then  appearing  only  in  patches,  and  finally  disappearing 
altogether  in  North  Carolina. 

Throughout  this  belt  the  ores  of  copper  have  been  fre- 
quently found,  and  always  under  quite  similar  circumstances ; 
they  were  the  first  copper  mines  worked  in  the  country,  and 
for  a  long  time  were  supposed  likely  to  prove  of  great  value. 
The  ores  worked  were  mostly  the  red  oxide  and  carbonate, 
with  some  native  copper,  and  seem  all  to  have  been  contact- 
deposits,  at  or  near  the 
junction  of  the  sandstone  Fig.  35. 

and  trap.  Their  mode  of 
occurrence  is  illustrated  in 
the  annexed  section  (Fig. 
35).  The  ores  are  found 
in  irregular  bunches  at  the 

, .  n   .-•  -•  Occurrence  of  copper  ores  in  the  New  Red  Sand- 

junction  of  the  two  rocks,     stone.  a?  Trap .  b>  Sandstone .  C}  Copper  ores. 

or  in  the  sandstone,  at  a 

little  distance  from  the  trap,  in  deposits  parallel  with  the 

stratification. 

None  of  them  are  at  present  wrought,  but  their  work- 
ing forms  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  mining  history  of 
this  country.  Traces  of  cupriferous  ores  are  found  in  the 
New  Red  Sandstone  of  Massachusetts,  but  have  never  been 
mined  to  any  extent.  The  principal  locality  in  this  state  is 
in  Greenfield,  at  Turner's  Falls,  where  the  trap  and  sand- 
stone rocks  are  somewhat  stained  by  cupriferous  ores ;  but  I 
have  never  seen  any  well-developed  veins  here,  which  ap- 
peared worthy  of  becoming  the  object  of  mining  enterprise. 

CONNECTICUT. — In  this  state,  at  the  "Simsbury  Copper 
Mines,"  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town  of  Granby, 
are  deposits  of  ore  which  were  discovered  and  worked 


326  NEW    JERSEY    COPPER    MINES. 

in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  The  company  was 
chartered  in  1709,  and  appears  to  have  been  the  first  in- 
corporated mining  company  in  the  country.  According  to 
Professor  C.  II.  Shepard,*  the  ore  is  contained  in  a  fine- 
grained, yellowish-gray  sandstone,  and  occurs  in  beds  of 
greater  or  less  extent,  as  well  as  in  nodules  and  strings. 
The  principal  ore  was  vitreous  copper,  with  the  variegated 
ore  and  malachite  in  small  quantity.  About  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  after  considerable  ore  had  been  extracted, 
at  different  times,  during  a  period  of  forty  years,  the  mines 
were  abandoned,  but  were  afterwards,  with  unheard-of  bar- 
barity, purchased  by  the  state,  and  used  as  a  prison  for  sixty 
years.  Later,  in  1830,  the  property  came  into  the  hands  of 
a  company,  and  was  worked  for  a  few  years,  ^and  then,  in  all 
probability,  finally  and  for  ever  abandoned. 

At  the  time  they  were  examined  by  Prof.  Shepard,  the  work- 
ings were  carried  on  at  a  depth  of  about  50  feet,  in  a  bed 
which  dipped  to  the  east  at  an  angle  of  25°,  and  had  a 
thickness  of  about  2  feet.  The  ores,  which  appear  to  have 
been  mostly  sold  in  England,  were  poor,  a  shipment  sent 
over  in  1830  averaging  in  value  only  §33  60  per  ton.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  smelt  them  at  the  mine,  which  proved 
unsuccessful. 

NEW  JERSEY. — The  ores  of  copper,  especially  the  carbo- 
nate, red  oxide,  and  sulphuret,  exist  in  many  places  in  this 
state,  in  the  red  sandstone  region,  and  in  every  case  in  con- 
nection with  the  trappean  rocks.  The  principal  points 
where  mining  operations  have  been  carried  on  are  near 
Belleville,  Griggstown,  Brunswick,  Woodbridge,  Green- 
brook,  Somerville,  and  Flemington. 

A  few  historical  notices  of  the  attempts  which  have  been 
made  to  mine  in  this  district  will  not  be  without  interest. 
They  have  been  principally  collected  from  Morse's  Gazetteer 
and  Gordon's  Gazetteer  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

About  the  years  1748,  1749,  and  1750,  several  lumps  of  virgin  copper,  from 
5  to  30  Ibs.  in  weight  (in  the  whole  upwards  of  200  Ibs.),  were  ploughed  up 
in  a  field  belonging  to  Philip  French,  near  New  Brunswick.  A  lease  was 


*  Report  of  the  Geol.  Survey  of  Conn.,  p.  42. 


SCHUYLER    MINE.  327 

secured  of  the  property,  a  company  formed,  and  operations  commenced  in 
1751.  A  shaft  was  sunk  on  a  spot  "  where  a  neighbor,  passing  it  in  the  dark, 
had  observed  a  flame  rising  from  the  ground,  nearly  as  large  as  the  body  of  a 
man."  The  account  goes  on  to  state  that  a  sheet  of  copper  was  struck, 
"  somewhat  thicker  than  gold-leaf,"  between  walls  of  loose  sandstone.  Lumps 
of  copper  were  found  of  from  5  to  30  Ibs.  in  weight.  The  company  followed 
the  vein  for  30  feet,  when  the  accumulation  of  water  exceeded  their  means 
of  removing  it,  and  the  work  was  abandoned,  some  tons  of  copper  having 
been  obtained,  and  shipped  to  England.  A  stamping-mill  was  erected.  It  is 
said  that  sheets  of  copper,  "  of  the  thickness  of  two  pennies,  and  three  feet 
square,"  were  taken  from  between  the  rocks,  within  four  feet  of  the  surface. 

After  the  first  company  had  abandoned  this  work,  several  efforts  were  made 
at  various  periods  to  renew  the  operations,  and  extensive  excavations  were 
made,  but  always  without  success.  A  shaft  was  sunk  to  a  great  depth,  and 
an  adit  driven  several  hundred  yards. 

The  Schuyler  Mine,  near  Belleville,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Passaic,  seven 
miles  from  Jersey  City,  was  discovered  about  the  year  1719,  by  Arent  Schuyler. 
The  ore,  cropping  out  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  was  easily  raised,  and  was  proba- 
bly pretty  abundant  near  the  surface.  At  any  rate,  it  appeared  from  the 
books  of  the  discoverer  that  1386  tons  of  ore  had  been  shipped  to  England 
before  the  year  1731  ;  what  percentage  it  yielded  is  not  known.  The  son  of 
the  discoverer  continued  the  workings  with  an  increased  force,  but  the  returns 
of  ore  raised  were  lost  during  the  war.  In  1761,  the  mine  was  leased  to  a 
company,  a  steam-engine  erected,  and  works  are  said  to  have  been  carried  on 
profitably  for  four  years,  when  the  engine-house  was  set  on  fire  and  burnt  by 
a  discharged  workman,  and  the  mine  was  then  abandoned.  A  company  of 
English  capitalists  afterwards  obtained  permission  to  erect  smelting  works  at 
this  mine,  and  offered  Mr.  Schuyler  £100,000  for  the  estate,  which  was  refused, 
and  the  whole  lay  dormant  until  after  the  revolutionary  war.  Several  com- 
panies have  since  been  organized,  and  have  expended  large  sums  of  money 
on  this  mine,  but  have  all  proved  entire  failures. 

The  body  of  the  ore  appears  to  be  imbedded  in  a  stratum  of  sandstone  20 
to  30  feet  in  thickness,  and  to  dip  at  an  angle  of  about  12°.  The  excavations 
have  been  carried  to  a  depth  of  212  feet.  The  ores  occur  mixed  with  the 
sandstone,  and  there  are  no  indications  of  a  true  vein. 

The  Franklin  Mine,  near  Griggstown,  in  Somerset  County,  is  said  to  have 
been  worked  to  a  depth  of  100  feet,  and  drained  by  a  long  adit.  The  ore  was 
found  in  the  shale,  near  its  junction  with  the  trap;  it  consisted  chiefly  of 
carbonate  and  red  oxide.  A  considerable  sum  of  money  was  expended  here> 
without  any  return. 

The  Flemington  Copper  _Mine  was  the  only  one  of  the  mines  wrought  at  the 
time  of  Prof.  Rogers's  survey  (1836).  He  describes  the  ore  as  being  intimately 
blended  and  incorporated  with  an  indurated  and  altered  sandstone,  which  con- 
stitutes a  metalliferous  belt  of  variable  breadth,  sometimes  20  or  30  feet  wide, 
and  preserving  a  nearly  north  and  south  direction  for  several  hundred  feet.  The 
ore  is  a  mixture  of  gray  sulphuret  and  carbonate,  and  is  generally  in  small  par- 
ticles disseminated  through  the  rock. 


328         PENNSYLVANIA  COPPER  MINES. 

The  Bridgewater  Mine,  near  Somerville,  at  the  base  of  a  trap  ridge,  was 
worked  before  the  Revolution  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  with  much  loss  of 
capital.  A  smelting  furnace  is  said  to  have  been  erected  here,  by  German 
workmen,  and  two  masses  of  copper  are  mentioned  as  having  been  found  in 
1754,  weighing  1900  Ibs.  This  mine  was  again  opened  and  worked  in  1824, 
and  was  abandoned  with  loss. 

It  would  seem  as  if  these  failures  might  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  warn  capitalists  from  wasting  any  more  money  in 
these  mines.  The  State  Geologist,  in  his  report,  remarks 
that  there  are  no  true  veins  in  this  formation,  and  warns 
against  farther  expenditures,  unless  made  with  the  greatest 
caution. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  "New  Jersey  had,  in  1846  and 
1847,  its  little  copper  fever  as  well  as  Lake  Superior.  In 
1847,  there  were  six  mining  companies  organized  in  this  dis- 
trict, with  69,500  shares,  and  their  market  value  exceeded 
$1,000,000.  The  Raritan  Mine,  3  miles  southwest  of  New 
Brunswick,  was  purchased  at  a  high  price,  and  large  expen- 
ditures were  made  under  the  advice  of  Dr.  C.  T.  Jackson  and 
J.  H.  Blake,  Esq.  The  Passaic  Mining  Company  erected  a 
steam-engine  and  expended  a  large  sum  of  money,  near  the 
old  Schuyler  Mine.  The  Mechanic  Mine,  near  Flemington, 
which  had  been  worked  before  the  Revolution,  wras  re- 
opened at  a  considerable  expense.  The  Washington  Mine, 
near  the  old  Bridgewater  Mine,  at  Somerville,  was  another 
of  these  unfortunate  concerns,  in  which  the  future  profits  per 
acre  were  calculated  to  a  fraction  of  a  dollar. 

All  these  mines  were  abandoned,  after  heavy  expenditures, 
with  almost  total  loss  of  the  whole  amount  invested ;  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  no  more  money  will  be  sunk  in  them. 

CUPRIFEROUS  VEINS  AT  THE  JUNCTION  OF  GNEISS  AND  NEW  RED  SANDSTONE. 

There  is  in  Montgomery  and  Chester  Counties,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, a  metalliferous  district  of  peculiar  interest,  which 
is  now  developing  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  which  has 
l>een  favorably  reported  on  by  those  mining  engineers  and 
geologists  who  have  examined  it.  According  to  H.  D. 
Rogers,  State  Geologist^  who  has  made  this  region  the  sub- 
ject of  a  special  report,  the  metalliferous  zone  ranges  in  a 


PERKIOMEN    MINE.  329 

general  east  and  west  direction  across  the  Schuylkill  River, 
occupying  a  belt  of  country  six  to  seven  miles  long,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Perkiomen  and  Pickering  Creeks,  not  far  from 
the  boundary  of  the  gneiss,  or  metamorphic  rocks,  and  the 
new  red  sandstone.  Within  this  space  are  some  ten  or 
twelve  lodes,  some  of  which  are  said  to  be  confined  to  one 
formation  and  some  to  the  other,  while  others  traverse  both. 
Prof.  Rogers  states  that,  as  a  general  fact,  those  veins  which 
are  confined  entirely  or  chiefly  to  the  gneiss,  bear  lead  as 
their  principal  metal,  whereas  those  which  are  included  solely 
within  the  red  shale  are  characterized  by  containing  ores  of 
copper.  The  Perkiomen  and  Ecton  Lode,  the  United  Mine 
Lode,  the  Shannonville  South  Lode,  and  a  few  others,  are 
mentioned  as  true  copper  lodes,  and  all  in  the  red  shale.  The 
phenomena  of  the  lodes,  the  different  systems,  and  other  in- 
teresting facts  in  connection  with  this  district,  will  be  noticed 
in  the  chapter  devoted  to  lead,  as  this  region  promises  to  be 
of  more  importance  for  this  metal,  and  the  silver  which  it 
contains,  than  for  its  copper.  There  seems  to  be  but  one 
company  engaged  in  working  for  copper  only ;  their  works 
will  be  noticed  in  this  connection : — 

Perkiomen  Consolidated  Mining  Company.  From  the  Reports  of  this  com- 
pany it  appears  that  it  was  organized  in  March  1851,  by  the  consolidation  of 
the  Ecton  and  Perkiomen  Mines,  both  of  which  were  on  the  same  lode,  and 
their  engine-shafts  at  a  distance  of  about  1800  feet  apart. 

From  the  Report  of  the  Manager,  C.  M.  Wheatley,  Esq.,  April  1,  1852,  it 
appears  that  at  that  time,  the  engine-shaft  in  the  Perkiomen  Mine  was  sinking 
below  the  50-fathom  level,  and  that  the  lode  at  that  depth  was  from  4  to  9  feet 
in  width,  made  up  of  quartz,  gossan,  and  sulphate  of  baryta,  with  green  carbonate 
of  copper  and  copper  pyrites  in  places.  It  had  decidedly  improved  from  the 
40-fathom  level  down.  At  the  Ecton  Mine,  the  54-fathom  level  was  driving 
from  the  engine-shaft  west,  on  a  lode  varying  from  2  to  5  feet  in  width,  with 
good  stones  of  copper  pyrites,  but  not  worth  stoping. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1853,  the  engine-shaft  in  the  Perkiomen  Mine  was  62 
fathoms  deep.  In  the  50-fathom  level  the  lode  is  represented  as  not  produc- 
tive, but  expected  to  be  at  farther  depth.  In  the  Ecton  Mine,  the  engine-shaft 
was  down  66  fathoms,  and  a  level  driven  each  way  a  few  fathoms,  on  a  lode 
from  3  to  8  feet  in  width,  but  poor  in  ore. 

From  August  1851  to  April  1852,  524  tons  of  ore  were  sold  by  this  com- 
pany, which  realized  $30,573,  and  varied  from  7  to  23  per  cent,  of  copper, 


330  COPPER     IN    NEW    MEXICO. 

yielding  about  100  tons  of  pure  copper.     In  the  year  ending  April  1853,  143 
tons  of  ore  were  sold,  for  $9,989. 

In  September  1853,  the  then  manager,  Mr.  Rogers,  remarks  that  as  all  the 
ore  had  been  stoped  out,  it  would  require  fully  eight  months  to  open  the  ground 
before  farther  sales  could  be  made. 

Before  closing  the  description  of  the  copper  mines  of  this 
country,  those  of  New  Mexico  should  be  alluded  to,  although 
I  know  nothing  of  their  geological  position,  and  have  there- 
fore heen  unable  to  arrange  them  in  any  particular  group,  in 
reference  to  the  other  mines  of  the  United  States.  The 
region  of  the  head- waters  of  the  Gila  is  spoken  of  by  travel- 
lers as  rich  in  copper  ores,  and  were  they  nearer  a  market 
they  might  become  of  importance  ;  at  present  they  must  be 
looked  on  as  of  little  value.  The  most  celebrated  mine,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Wislizenus,*  is  that  of  Santa  Rita  de  Cobre  ; 
it  was  opened  in  1804,  and  worked  from  1828  to  1835  by  a 
Frenchman  named  Courcier,  who  is  reported  to  have  cleared 
half  a  million  of  dollars  from  it.  This  statement  is  corrobo- 
rated by  Mr.  Bartlett,  U.  S.  Commissioner,  f  who  remarks, 
that  indications  of  copper  are  abundant  on  the  surface 
throughout  the  vicinity.  The  ore  is  chiefly  the  red  oxide, 
and  it  is  contained  in  a  feldspathic  rock,  but  of  what  age  or 
character  I  am  not  able  to  state. 

The  copper  raised  is  said  to  have  been  coined  in  the  Mint 
of  Chihuahua,  by  which  state  the  mines  were  at  that  time 
claimed  as  belonging  to  its  territory.  Supplies  were  neces- 
sarily brought  a  distance  of  400  miles  by  wagon ;  and,  in 
1838,  a  train  was  attacked  by  the  Apaches,  and  taken  pos- 
session of,  and  all  farther  access  to  the  mines  cut  off.  They 
remained  entirely  abandoned  from  that  time  up  to  1851, 
when  the  place  was  occupied  by  the  Boundary  Commission. 
Dr.  Wislizenus  remarks,  "that  the  whole  range  is  intersected 
with  veins  of  copper,  and  placers  of  gold." 

In  the  preceding  pages  have  been  passed  in  review  the 
principal  cupriferous  regions  of  the  world,  and  the  results 
will  now  be  presented  in  a  tabular  form.  And  in  the  table 

*  Memoir  of  a  Tour  to  Northern  Mexico,  p.  47. 

f  Personal  Narrative  of  Explorations  and  Incidents  in  Texas,  New  Mexico,  &c., 
i.  228. 


STATISTICS    OF    COPPER. 


331 


immediately  following,  the  produce  of  copper,  in  tons,  of  the 
different  states  of  Europe,  together  with  the  most  reliable 
estimates  in  regard  to  the  other  countries  of  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere,  are  given  for  every  fifth  year,  from  1820  to 
1845,  and  from  that  date  to  the  present  time  for  each  succes- 
sive year.  As  in  the  other  tables  of  this  kind,  the  blanks 
are  only  filled  up  when  tolerably  reliable  data  were  attain- 
able, and  a  0  in  the  column  indicates  that,  previous  to  that 
period,  no  copper  had  been  produced  by  that  country. 


e 
1 

.2 

B 

a 

M 

ei 

c 

a 

ts 

N 

0 

3 

gj 

0 

3 

ca 

H 

3 

Pi 

K 

fc 

O 

£ 

ffl 

n 

1820, 

8,127 

1825, 

10.358 

1,776 

1830, 
1835, 

3,800 

849 

13,232 
14,470 

838  av. 
796  •• 

196 
220 

19 
21 

2,165 
2.465 

1840, 
1845, 

4,600  av. 

816 

642  av. 

13.020 
14,900 

991  " 
955  " 

27 

2,657 
2,695 

1846, 

14.950 

1.211 

2,801 

1847, 

13,780 

1,245 

3.310 

1848, 

4.700 

14.720 

1,179 

11 

3,309 

1849, 

5,550 

13,600 

897 

38 

1850, 

6,450 

1,423 

567  av. 

14,700 

1,181 

150 

1851, 

14,300 

1,450 

51 

1852, 

14,300 

B*   ' 

cs 

cd 

"3 

V 

o 
g 

a 

1 

.2 

ej 

h 

N 

GJ 

C3 

"cJ 

3 

To 

3 

49 

£ 

OQ 

H 

< 

* 

1820, 

1825, 

137 

1.S30, 

229 

1835, 

79 

1840, 

107 

0 

0 

0 

1845, 

142 

285 

450 

30 

1846, 

850 

60 

1847, 

380 

250 

2,000 

500 

2,400 

1,600 

125 

1848, 

1,500 

50 

1849, 

450 

2.500 

75 

1850, 

3,000 

3.300 

200 

1851, 

3.500 

375 

1852, 

400 

3.250 

1853, 

2,650 

For  most  of  the  European  countries,  the  statements  are 
derived  from  official  sources,  and  may  be  relied  on  as  being 
very  near  approximations  to  the  truth.  For  Spain,  Italy, 
and  Turkey,  the  data  are  very  imperfect.  The  estimates  for 
Australia  have  been  compiled  from  the  returns  of  ore  sold 


332 


STATISTICS    OF    COPPER. 


at  Swansea,  and  the  statements  of  exports  from  that  colony ; 
those  for  New  Zealand  from  the  former  source  alone.  In 
regard  to  that  part  of  Asia  which  is  not  included  in  the  Rus- 
sian Empire,  hut  little  information  can  he  oh  tain  ed.  China 
produces  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  metal ;  hut  as  it 
does  not  affect  the  commerce  of  the  world,  heing  all  con- 
sumed within  its  own  borders,  and  as  no  estimate  whatever 
can  be  made  of  its  amount,  it  is  not  included  in  the  tables. 

The  next  table  gives  the  production  of  the  New  World,  of 
which  almost  the  whole  quantity  is  furnished  by  Cuba  and 
Chili,  as  it  is  only  quite  recently  that  the  United  States  have 
begun  to  produce  a  notable  amount  of  copper.  The  pro- 
duction of  Cuba  is  made  up  chiefly  from  the  sales  of  ores  in 
England;  that  of  Chili  from  various  returns  of  exports 
from  that  country,  some  of  which  were  furnished  by  the 
English  and  French  consuls,  and  others  published  by  the 
government,  collated  with  the  official  statements  of  imports 
from  that  country  into  England,  France,  and  the  United 
States.  The  other  countries  of  South  America  furnish  a 
small  amount,  of  which,  at  best,  but  a  very  imperfect  state- 
ment can  be  given. 


Chili. 

South 
America. 

Cuba. 

U.S. 

&Can. 

1830,    
1835,    

0 
700 

1840,    

9000 

4,500 

1845,    
1846,     ... 

13.270 
13  800 

6.800 
5  150 

100 
150 

1847,    

11,850 

4.000 

300 

1848,    

12.275 

4.000 

500 

1849,     

12,450 

3,600 

700 

1850 

1  200 

3  400 

650 

1851,         .    .     . 

3  400 

900 

1852,     
1853,    

1,300 

2.600 
2,500 

1100 
2000 

In  order  to  exhibit  at  one  view  the  gradual  increase  in  the 
production  of  the  world  during  the  last  twenty  years,  as  well 
as  the  relative  amount  which  each  country  has  contributed  to 
the  grand  total,  a  third  table  is  appended.  In  this  the  pro- 
duce of  each  country  is  given  in  tons,  and  opposite  to  it,  in 
the  next  column,  in  percentage  of  the  whole  amount. 

In  this  statement,  as  in  others  of  the  same  kind  which 
have  been  given,  where  reliable  data  were  wanting,  the 
places  have  been  filled  by  the  best  estimates  which  could  be 


IMPORTATIONS    OF    COPPER. 


333 


formed.      The  whole  amount  given  for  each  year  is  not, 
probably,  far  removed  from  the  truth. 


1880. 

1840. 

1850. 

1853. 

3,800 
1.500 
13,200 
1.100 
2,150 
500 
500 

2,500 
200 

50 

14-9 
59 
51-7 
4-3 
8-4 
2- 
2- 

9-8 
•8 

•2 

4,600 
1,500 
13.000 
1.250 
2,650 
700 
1.000 
100 
2,500 

9,000 
100 
4,500 
100 

11-2 
3-7 

31-7 
3-1 
6-5 
1-7 
2-4 
•2 
6-1 

22- 
•2 
11- 

•2 

6,450 
2,000 
14,700 
1,400 
3,300 
1.000 
1.000 
600 
3,000 
3,500 
12,500 
1200 
3,400 
650 

11-8 
3-7 
26-8 
2-6 
6- 
1-8 
1-8 
1-1 
5-4 
6-4 
22-9 
2-2 
6-3 
1-2 

6.500 
2,000 
14,500 
1.450 
3,300 
1,000 
600 
600 
3.000 
2,950 
14.000 
1,300 
2.500 
2,000 

11-7 
3-6 
26- 
2-6 
5-9 
18 
1-1 
1-1 
5-4 
5-3 
25-1 
2-3 
4-5 
3-6 

Great  Britain,        

Re«t  of  Europe     

Africa,  '.    . 

Australia  and  New  Zealand,     .    . 
Chili,     

Cuba  

United  States  and  Canada,   .    .    . 

25,500 

41,000 

54.700 

55,700 

From  this  statement,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  amount  of 
copper  produced  in  the  world  has  more  than  doubled  within 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  and  that  this  increase  has  been 
due  mainly  to  the  opening  of  new  cupriferous  regions  in 
Cuba,  Chili,  Australia,  and,  in  some  degree,  in  the  United 
States.  Our  own  production  has  risen  in  that  time  from  a 
few  tons,  raised  at  irregular  intervals,  up  to  2000,  and  it  bids 
fair  to  go  on  rapidly  increasing. 

It  is  still,  however,  far  from  supplying  our  demand  for  this 
metal,  since  our  importations  have  tended  constantly  to 
increase  rather  than  to  decrease,  since  our  own  mines  began 
to  produce  a  noticeable  quantity.  This  will  be  seen  by  ex- 
amining the  appended  statement  of  the  value  of  the  copper, 
of  various  descriptions,  imported  and  retained  for  home  con- 
sumption, compiled  from  official  sources,  and  given  for  each 
fiscal  year  from  1840  to  1852. 


Pigs, 
Bars,  and  Old. 

Plates  suited 
to  Sheathing. 

Manufactured 
Art.  &  Sunds. 

Ore. 

Total. 

1840, 

$1,130.727 

$373,915 

$69,799 

$1,574.441 

1841, 

1,089.229 

465,165 

98.294 

1,652  688 

1842, 

866,498 

325,117 

80.729 

1,272.344 

1843, 

271,288 

164.598 

25.831 

$64,148 

525.865 

1844, 

568.786 

588,565 

135.061 

56.485 

1,348.897 

1845, 

1,176.494 

676,161 

114.689 

48,807 

2,016,151 

1846, 

1.053294 

824.915 

147,111 

98,156 

2.123.476 

1847, 

1,491,209 

999,026 

140.640 

2,630.875 

1848, 

301,476 

813,202 

153.074 

153,302 

1,426,054 

1849, 

925.202 

984.909 

232  296 

177,111 

2.319.518 

1850, 

877,343 

682.765 

338,652 

188,632 

2.087.392 

1851, 

1.422206 

710,892 

366,527 

65,266 

2,564,891 

1852,     . 

1,499,467 

610,755 

257,357 

As,  however,  a  considerable  amount  of  the  same  metal  is 
brought  into  the  countiy  in  the  modified  forms  of  brass  and 


334 


SMELTING    OP    COPPER    ORES. 


sheathing-metal,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  corresponding  state- 
ment for  these  also ;  and  we  have  farther  added,  to  complete 
the  view  of  the  whole  commerce  in  copper  of  the  country, 
an  account  of  the  "  copper  and  brass,  and  copper  manufac- 
tured," of  domestic  production,  exported  during  the  same 
period. 


Br 

1SS. 

Exported. 

Pigs,  Bars, 
Old,  Sheet, 
etc. 

Manufactured 
Articles. 

Sheathing 

Metal. 

Copper  and  Brass, 
etc. 

1840        .... 

$1  675 

$243  695 

86  954 

1841 

2  423 

2°2  534 

72932 

1842,  .          ... 

4683 

160,234 

97  021 

1843 

135  124 

38  189 

$976 

70  ''34 

1844,  

49,241 

83  158 

8971 

91446 

18-15  . 

13  702 

141  723 

5  646 

94  736 

1846,  

2673 

146,420 

11,341 

62  088 

1847,            .    . 

59  437 

145  822 

4  127 

64980 

1848  
1849 

36,055 
20  434 

163.535 
153  773 

225,348 

2^0  031: 

61.468 
66  203 

1850 

18  901 

160  225 

469  798 

105  060 

1851,  

7,918 

161  484 

286  357 

91,871 

1852 

604  809 

By  far  the  largest  portion  of  our  imports  of  pig  and  bar 
copper  have  been,  within  the  last  few  years,  from  Chili.* 
Our  sheathing  and  sheathing  metal  come  almost  exclusively 
from  England.  The  ores  which  we  import  are  chiefly  Cuban 
and  Chilian. 

The  metallurgic  treatment  of  the  ores  of  copper  is  a  pro- 
cess requiring  much  skill  and  a  large  amount  of  capital. 
Moreover,  it  is  usually  advantageous  to  mix  together  ores  of 
different  qualities,  so  as  to  be  able  to  smelt  the  poorer  and 
more  refractory  kinds  by  adding  to  them  the  richer.  These 
circumstances  led  naturally  to  the  concentration  of  the  smelt- 
ing business  at  Swansea,  in  Wales,  a  point  which  presented 
unrivalled  advantages  in  the  proximity  of  coal  and  conveni- 
ence of  access.  Hence,  the  ores  of  foreign  mines,  and  es- 
pecially of  South  America,  Cuba,  and  Australia,  found  their 
way  thither  almost  exclusively,  for  a  long  time  ;  capital,  skill, 
or  fuel,  being  wanting  at  home.  Until  recently,  more  than 
half  the  copper  of  the  world  was  smelted  there.  The  annexed 
table  of  the  sales  at  Swansea,  from  1828  up  to  the  present 


See  Table  of  Imports  from  Chili,  page  243. 


SWANSEA    SALES. 


335 


time,  will  show  the  immense  extent  of  this  business,  which 
has  usually  been  in  the  hands  of  seven  or  eight  different 
smelting  companies.  It  presents  the  amount  of  ore  sold,  in 
tons  of  21  cwts.,  specifying  the  country  in  which  the  ores 
were  raised.  The  column  headed  "  sundries,"  includes  small 
items  from  a  variety  of  different  sources,  and  especially  from 
the  states  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean  and  from  New 
Zealand,  in  which  the  quantities  were  too  small  and  irregular 
in  amount  to  be  thought  worthy  of  a  separate  mention. 


eg 

H3~ 

. 

C3 

*  fl 

to 

~  t* 

'd 

a 

~a 

08  * 

°C 

'Ec** 

a 

Bj 

13 

i 

to 

•a 
c 

2 

K! 

£ 

o 

o 

3 

O 

3 

&  5 

3 

73 

2 

1828,  . 

3,875 

8.510 

199 

12,584 

1829,  . 

6,796 

7,044 

456 

187 

25 

14,508 

1830,  . 

2.203 

9,115 

733 

201 

12.252 

1831,  . 

1,982 

9,707 

674 

244 

57 

12,664 

1832,  . 

3.830 

11,399 

531 

33 

15 

62 

15,870 

1833,  . 

2.147 

11,293 

624 

435 

14,499 

1834,. 

3.713 

17.280 

453 

1,107 

517 

23,070 

1835,  . 

4.038 

22.123 

329 

2,342 

4.087 

32,919 

1836,. 

2,233 

21,013 

1,099 

4,402 

3,106 

20 

419 

32,292 

1837,  . 

2.395 

22.306 

1.277 

6,825 

6.405 

14 

39.222 

1838,  . 

4,374 

22,161 

1,023 

10.924 

7,725 

196 

46,403 

1839,  . 

4,449 

23,613 

479 

S,436 

15,148 

29 

52.154 

1840,  . 

2,277 

20,166 

55 

10,325 

24,831 

140 

3 

57,797 

1841,  . 

1,885 

14.321 

38 

10,395 

30,864 

67 

57.570 

1842,  . 

2.767 

15,253 

36 

9,475 

34.562 

69 

250 

62,412 

1843,  . 

1.889 

17.600 

11.550 

28,071 

61 

1,057 

60,228 

1844,  . 

1.130 

20.063 

11,857 

33.331 

61 

10 

232 

66,684 

1845,  . 

2.536 

19,647 

4.755 

39,270 

1,636 

395 

588 

68.826 

1846,  . 

1,584 

17,553 

7,721 

27,279 

3,232 

675 

441 

58,485 

1847,  . 

746 

14.373 

5,795 

21.918 

6,321 

407 

1,259 

50,819 

1848,  . 

774 

12,633 

4,163 

25,778 

5,891 

121 

49,360 

1849,  . 

1,677 

9.852 

923 

23.282 

7,552 

307 

43.593 

1850,  . 

1.574 

10,478 

1,537 

21.S91 

4.561 

1.972 

41,713 

1851,  . 

592 

11.678 

827 

21,692 

2,328 

219 

2.502 

39.838 

1852,  . 

1,504 

10,104 

89 

892 

16.177 

1.356 

513 

1.019 

31,654 

1853,  . 

2,174 

11,367 

1,203 

14,058 

1,040 

1,046 

2,086 

32,974 

65,144 

390,652 

8.095 

116,554 

399,692 

33,977 

3,609 

12667 

1,030,390 

The  above  table  of  course  does  not  include  the  Cornish 
ores,  which  are  sold  in  Cornwall  itself,  before  being  brought 
to  Swansea.  The  foreign  ores  sold  at  the  latter  place  have 
usually  averaged  about  20  per  cent,  of  pure  copper.  Previous 
to  1827,  a  heavy  duty  was  imposed  on  foreign  ores  brought 
into  England  to  be  smelted ;  from  that  time  until  1842,  their 
free  importation  was  permitted,  but  the  smelters  were  obliged 
to  send  the  whole  of  the  copper  produced  from  such  ores  out 
of  the  country  to  be  sold,  or  else  to  pay  a  heavy  duty.  As 
this  system  was  found  to  operate  unfavorably  to  the  English 
mines,  by  making  it  for  the  interest  of  the  smelters  to  keep 


336     COPPER    SMELTING    IN    THE     UNITED    STATES. 

the  price  of  copper  lower  in  the  foreign  than  in  the  home 
market,  it  was  done  away  with  in  1842,  and  a  small  differen- 
tial duty  was  imposed  on  the  ore  of  from  3  to  6  shillings  per 
ton,  according  to  the  percentage  of  metal  it  contained. 
Under  this  arrangement,  the  quantity  of  copper  smelted  at 
Swansea  increased  rapidly,  and  amounted  in  1844  to  27,515 
tons,  of  which  12,674  tons  were  of  foreign  origin.  Since 
that  time,  there  has  been  a  gradual  falling  off  in  the  sales  of 
foreign  ores  in  England,  although  in  1848  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment was  passed  admitting  them  at  a  nominal  duty  of  1  shil- 
ling per  ton,  without  regard  to  their  percentage  of  copper. 
This  may  he  accounted  for  by  the  fact,  that  smelting  works 
have  been  established  in  Australia,  Chili,  and  other  countries, 
which  formerly  sent  large  quantities  of  ore  to  Swansea,  and 
the  Cuba  mines  have  fallen  off  considerably ;  thus  cutting  off, 
in  part,  the  supply  from  three  of  the  most  abundant  sources. 
In  this  country  there  are  several  establishments  for  smelt- 
ing copper  ores.  'The  native  copper  of  Lake  Superior  is 
separated  from  the  small  portion  of  gangue  which  accompa- 
nies it,  by  a  single  melting  in  large  reverberatory  furnaces. 
There  are  two  establishments  where  this  is  principally  done, 
one  at  Detroit  and  the  other  at  Pittsburgh.  Besides  these, 
there  are  smelting  works  in  which  imported  ores  and  those 
furnished  by  the  mines  of  the  Atlantic  States,  hitherto  in 
comparatively  small  quantity,  are  treated.  These  are  near 
Boston,  New  Haven,  New  York,  and  Baltimore. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ZINC. 
SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL   OCCURRENCE   AND   GEOLOGICAL  POSITION   OF   THE 
ORES   OF   ZINC. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — The  ores  of  zinc  are  quite 
numerous,  but  all  the  metal  of  commerce  is  obtained  from 
a  few  of  them,  and,  quite  contrary  to  what  has  been  seen  to 
be  the  case  with  most  of  the  metals  thus  far  described,  the 
sulphuret  is  not  one  of  the  number.  It  is  a  curious  fact, 
that  although  the  ores  of  zinc  have  been  employed  in 
making  brass  for  a  great  length  of  time,  the  metal  itself  is 
quite  of  modern  use.  The  following  are  the  principal  ores 
of  zinc,  the  metal  being  never  found  in  a  native  state : — 

I.   COMBINED   WITH    SULPHUR. 

Blende,  Sulphuret  of  Zinc,  Black-jack  of  the  Cornish 
miners.  This  mineral  is  composed  of  one  atom  each  of  zinc 
and  sulphur,  or  33*10  of  sulphur,  and  66'90  of  zinc.  It 
occurs  both  massive  and  crystallized,  the  purest  crystals 
being  of  a  fine  honey-yellow  color.  It  almost  always,  how- 
ever, contains  more  or  less  iron,  forming  the  well-known 
"black-jack"  of  the  miners.  It  is  almost  invariably  asso- 
ciated with  the  ores  of  lead,  and  frequently  with  those 
of  copper  and  tin.  In  order  to  free  this  ore  from  its  sul- 
phur, before  reducing  the  metal,  a  long  and  careful  roasting 
is  necessary ;  hence  the  process  is  more  expensive  than  that 
required  for  the  oxide  and  carbonate,  and  blende  is  accord- 
ingly but  little  used  for  the  manufacture  of  zinc,  although 
so  universally  disseminated.  Associated  with  blende,  and 

22 


838          MINER ALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    OF    ZINC. 

mixed  with  it  in  small  quantity,  the  sulphuret  of  cadmium 
is  occasionally  found. 

Rionite  is  a  seleniuret  of  zinc  and  mercury,  a  very  rare 
mineral. 

Voltzite.  A  combination  of  the  sulphuret  and  oxide  of 
zinc ;  of  no  importance  as  an  ore. 

II.   COMBINED   WITH    OXYGEN. 

Red  Zinc  Ore,  Red  Oxide  of  Zinc.  An  ore  of  zinc  which 
is  only  found  in  New  Jersey.  It  consists  mainly  of  the 
oxide,  which,  when  pure,  contains  19-74  of  oxygen,  and 
80-26  of  zinc,  hut  is  mixed  with  a  small  percentage  of  oxide 
of  manganese,  which  gives  it,  prohahly,  its  fine  red  color, 
the  artificial  oxide  being  of  a  pure  white,  when  uncontami- 
nated  by  foreign  impurities. 

This  ore  was  first  noticed  and  described  by  Dr.  Bruce,  one 
of  the  earliest  cultivators  of  the  natural  sciences  in  this 
country.  It  is  a  very  curious  fact  that  it  should  be  found 
only  in  this  one  district,  and  there  so  abundantly.  The  red 
zinc  ore  is  mechanically  mixed  with  Franklinite,  and  asso- 
ciated with  calcareous  spar,  at  Franklin  and  Stirling.  A 
mass  of  it  was  on  exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace  in  Lon- 
don, which  weighed  16,400  Ibs. 

III.    SILICATES,    CARBONATES,    SULPHATES,   AND    ABSENIATES. 

Electric  Calamine,  Silicious  Oxide  of  Zinc.  This  is  a 
silicate  of  the  oxide  of  zinc,  with  water.  It  contains,  when 
pure,  25-48  of  silica,  67-07  of  oxide  of  zinc,  and  7-45  of 
water.  Some  varieties,  however,  contain  two  or  three  per 
cent,  more  water.  This  is  an  abundant  and  valuable  ore, 
and  is  now  beginning  to  be  worked  in  this  country. 

Mancinite.  A  silicate  of  zinc,  containing,  probably,  one 
atom  of  oxide  of  zinc,  without  water ;  it  is  found  only  at  one 
locality,  near  Leghorn. 

Willemite.  A  silicate  of  zinc,  with  three  atoms  of  oxide 
of  zinc  to  one  of  silica,  or  silica  27*53,  and  oxide  of  zinc 
72-47.  This  substance  is  of  no  importance  as  an  ore;  it 
occurs  at  the  New  Jersey  zinc  mines. 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF    ZINC    ORES.  339 

Hopeite.  This  is  a  rare  mineral,  not  yet  fully  described, 
but  supposed  to  be  a  phosphate  of  zinc. 

Calamine,  Carbonate  of  Zinc.  This  is  the  most  important 
ore  of  zinc,  and  the  one  from  which  the  principal  portion  of 
the  metal  furnished  to  commerce  is  derived.  It  almost  inva- 
riably occurs  associated  with  electric  calamine,  and  the  two 
ores  are  worked  together  at  the  great  zinc  works  of  Belgium 
and  Prussia.  When  pure,  it  is  a  simple  carbonate,  with  one 
atom  of  carbonic  acid,  and  one  of  oxide  of  zinc,  or  35-19  of 
carbonic  acid,  and  64-81  of  oxide  of  zinc;  but  it  almost 
always  contains  alumina  and  oxide  of  iron.  It  is  rarely 
found  crystallized,  but  usually  in  reniform,  botryoidal,  and 
stalactitic  shapes,  or  sometimes,  when  quite  impure,  in 
earthy  and  friable  masses. 

Zinc  Bloom.  A  hydrated  carbonate  of  zinc,  containing 
71*28  per  cent,  of  oxide  of  zinc.  It  occurs  as  an  incrusta- 
tion on  other  zinc  ores,  and  is  not  of  economical  importance. 

Aurichalcite,  Green  Calamine.  A  combination  of  the 
carbonates  of  copper  and  zinc  with  water;  containing  29-17 
oxide  of  copper,  44-71  oxide  of  zinc,  16-19  carbonic  acid, 
and  9-93  water.  It  is  a  rare  mineral ;  it  might,  with  pro- 
priety, be  called  "native  brass  ore,"  were  it  sufficiently  abun- 
dant to  become  an  ore. 

Buratite.  A  zinc  malachite,  or  a  carbonate  of  copper  with 
a  part  of  the  copper  replaced  by  zinc  and  lime.  It  is  closely 
related  to  the  last-named  mineral,  and,  like  that,  not  of 
economical  importance. 

Kb'ttigite,  an  arseniate  of  zinc,  is  a  rare  mineral,  which 
contains  cobalt  and  nickel,  and  occurs  with  the  ores  of  these 
metals. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION. — The  ores  of  zinc  are  distributed 
with  the  greatest  profusion  in  every  country,  and  in  almost 
every  geological  formation  ;  but  the  supply  of  the  metal  fur- 
nished to  commerce  is  drawn  from  a  very  few  districts,  in 
which  abundance  and  good  quality  of  ores,  cheapness  of 
labor,  and  facility  of  access  are  found  combined. 

The  ores  of  zinc  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  in  refe- 
rence to  their  geological  position  and  mode  of  occurrence. 

The  first  group  comprises  the  zinc  minerals  occurring  in 


340  ZINC    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

the  regular  veins  of  the  great  metalliferous  formations.  In 
the  older  rocks,  zinc  is  almost  an  unfailing  associate  of  the 
more  valuable  metals,  especially  of  silver  and  copper.  The 
only  ore  found  in  any  quantity  in  this  position,  however,  is 
the  sulphuret,  and  that  usually  more  or  less  mixed  with  iron, 
so  that  it  cannot  be  considered  as  of  any  particular  value. 
In  the  lead-bearing  rocks,  associated  with  the  veins  and  irre- 
gular deposits  of  that  metal,  zinc  ores  are  found  in  conside- 
rable abundance,  and  are  worked  to  some  extent  in  England 
in  connection  with  lead,  but  would  not  be  were  they  the  only 
object  of  exploitation. 

The  second  group  of  zinc  ores,  and  the  only  one  of  real 
importance,  comprises  those  occurring  in  calcareous  and 
dolomitic  rocks,  which  are  frequently  either  a  part  of,  or 
closely  connected  with,  the  carboniferous  system.  These 
deposits  occur  either  in  beds  intercalated  in  the  strata,  or  in 
irregular  masses  occupying  depressions  in  them,  and  are 
developed  on  an  immense  scale  in  the  great  zinc-bearing 
districts  of  Silesia  and  Belgium,  which  will  be  particularly 
noticed  farther  on  in  this  chapter.  The  ores  thus  found  are 
the  carbonate  and  silicate,  which  appear  in  many  cases  to 
have  resulted  from  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphuret. 


SECTION  II. 

GEOGEAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE   ORES   OF   ZINC   IN   FOREIGN 

COUNTRIES. 

EUSSIAN  EMPIRE. — The  great  zinc  deposits  of  Silesia  ex- 
tend into  Poland,  and  are  there  worked  to  a  considerable 
extent,  producing  about  4000  tons  of  metal  yearly.  There 
are  also  zinc  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Cracow. 

GREAT  BRITAIN.  —  Sulphuret  of  zinc,  blende,  or  black- 
jack, occurs  abundantly  in  the  copper  and  lead  lodes  of 
Cornwall ;  the  greater  portion  of  it,  however,  is  highly  ferru- 
ginous, a  specimen  from  Wheal  Ann  having  furnished,  on 
analysis,  as  much  as  22  per  cent,  of  iron.  At  the  date  of 
De  la  Beche's  Report  (1$37),  no  use  was  made  of  it.  Pryce, 
however,  who  wrote  in  1778,  remarks  that  black-jack  was 


BELGIUM.  341 

the  most  common  mineral  in  Cornwall  next  to  iron  pyrites? 
and  says  that  several  ladings  of  it  had  been  shipped  off  for 
making  brass. 

Plowden,  in  1578,  mentions  that  calamine  was  then  con- 
sidered to  be  plentiful  in  England,  and  that  this  mineral  was 
fused  with  copper  to  make  lattin  (brass) ;  he  does  not  state 
whether  this  was  done  in  England  or  out  of  the  country. 

At  present,  the  greater  number  of  the  zinc-works  are 
situated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bristol  and  Birmingham, 
although  a  few  are  near  Sheffield.  Bristol  and  Birmingham 
are  principally  supplied  with  ores  from  the  Mendip  Hills, 
and  from  Flintshire ;  and  Sheffield  from  the  mines  of  Alston 
Moor,  in  Cumberland. 

The  zinc  ores  of  Alston  Moor  are  in  the  carboniferous 
limestone,  and  generally  found  in  company  with  the  galena 
which  occurs  so  abundantly  in  that  region.  Some  of  the 
veins  contain  galena  only,  others  the  ores  both  of  lead  and 
zinc,  and  a  few  contain  the  latter  metal  alone. 

It  seems  impossible  to  form  any  estimate  of  the  quantity 
of  zinc  smelted  in  England,  on  account  of  its  being  done  at 
so  many  small  establishments.  It  cannot,  however,  exceed 
a  few  thousand  tons,  and  has  lately  fallen  off  considerably. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  Cornwall  the  miners  believe  that 
the  blende  or  black-jack  is  an  indication  of  richer  ore,  hence 
the  proverb  "Black-jack  rides  a  proud  horse  ;"  in  Derbyshire 
just  the  contrary  is  held,  and  the  saying  is  that  "black-jack 
has  eaten  up  the  lead." 

BELGIUM. — The  great  Belgian  zinc-works  are  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Liege.*  Dumont  has  divided  the  rocks  of  the  car- 
boniferous system,  which  is  the  prevailing  geological  forma- 
tion of  that  district,  into  four  groups,  as  follows : — 

1.  Group  of  the  lower  quartzose  slates,  made  up  of  slate,  sandstone,  and  con- 
glomerate. 

2.  Group  of  the  lower  limestone,  made  up  of  limestone  and  dolomite. 

3.  Group  of  the  upper  quartzose  slates,  made  up  of  slate  and  fine-grained  sand- 
stone. 

4.  Upper  limestone;  group  of  calcareous  and  dolomitic  beds. 


*  Piot  and  Murailhe,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  v.  165. 


342  ZINC    IN    BELGIUM. 

Intercalated  among  these  beds  of  rock  are  deposits  of  four 
kinds,  quartzose,  ferruginous,  zinc-bearing,  and  argillaceous, 
\vhich  are  most  developed  in  tbe  limestone,  and  especially  at 
the  junction  of  the  calcareous  groups  with  the  quartzose  slates. 
The  most  abundant  metallic  substance  is  brown  hematite, 
frequently  containing  a  considerable  proportion  of  zinc.  This 
ore  lies  in  the  midst  of  the  limestone  or  dolomite,  in  canoe- 
shaped  masses,  some  of  which  are  f  of  a  mile  in  length  and 
400  feet  broad,  with  an  unknown  depth.  They  also  sometimes 
take  on  the  character  of  veins,  crossing  the  formation  in  all 
directions,  and  being  associated  with  veinstones,  such  as 
heavy  spar,  and  with  ores  of  lead  and  zinc. 

Next  to  hematite,  calamine  is  the  most  abundant  ore.  It 
is  found  in  beds,  which  are  entirely  confined  to  the  limestones, 
and  never  occur  in  the  schists  or  sandstones.  The  most  im- 
portant deposits  are  those  of  La  Vieille  Montague,  La  ~Non- 
velle  Montagne,  Corfalie,  and  others  near  Huy,  Engis,  and 
Membach. 

The  most  important  of  all,  the  Vieille  Montagne,  is  situated 
near  Aix-la-Chapelle,  at  the  village  of  Moresnet.  The  zinc- 
bearing  deposit  is  in  the  upper  calcareous  group,  and  fills  a 
basin-like  depression  in  the  dolomite,  extending  1400  feet  in 
length,  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  600  to  700  feet  wide, 
with  a  depth  which  never  exceeds  190  feet.  The  mass  of 
ore  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  dolomitic  stratum,  and  the 
productive  portion  of  the  deposit  may  be  regarded  as  made 
up  of  a  great  number  of  different  layers,  irregularly  arranged, 
and  separated  by  different-colored  clays,  each  smaller  mass 
being  a  confused  mixture  of  clay  and  ore.  This  ore  is  a 
carbonate  of  zinc,  mixed  with  the  silicate  and  oxide.  It  con- 
tains geodes  of  crystals  of  these  and  other  zinc-bearing  mine- 
rals. The  ores  as  they  come  out  of  the  mines  are  divided 
into  two  classes,  the  red  and  the  white ;  the  red  variety  con- 
tains a  much  larger  quantity  of  ferruginous  matter,  and  is  less 
valuable,  partly  because  it  contains  less  zinc,  and  partly  be- 
cause it  fuses  more  readily  in  the  retorts  or  muffles.  The 
white  variety  yields  about  46  per  cent,  of  metallic  zinc,  the 
other  kind  33  to  34  per  cent. 


VIEILLE    MONTAQNE    COMPANY.  343 

There  are  several  other  deposits  of  calamine  which  have 
been  worked  at  various  times  near  the  Vieille  Montagne. 

La  Nouvelle  Montagne  is  at  Venders.  The  ore  is  in  an 
immense  pear-shaped  mass,  forming  a  sort  of  envelop  around 
an  interior  of  dolomite.  The  deposit  at  Corfalie  is  a  few 
miles  from  Liege.  Here  the  calamine  forms  an  intercalated 
mass  between  the  upper  limestone  and  the  coal  measures, 
constituting  a  flattened  layer  of  from  3  to  25  feet  in  thick- 
ness, occupying  a  nearly  vertical  position,  and  having  the 
shape  of  a  triangular  prism  with  its  base  uppermost.  It  is 
an  immense  stockwerk,  of  which  the  different  portions  are 
united  by  strings  of  blende.  The  deposit  consists  of  galena, 
blende,  and  calamine,  but  the  two  former  minerals  are 
found  together,  and  not  mixed  with  the  calamine. 

The  Vieille  Montagne  is  said  to  have  been  mined  by  the 
Spaniards  400  years  ago,  but  there  is  no  record  of  operations 
carried  on  here  extending  back  farther  than  1640.  The 
locality  was  owned  by  the  state  up  to  1806,  but  is  now  con- 
ceded to  a  company,  whose  works  are  of  great  extent.  The 
deposit  of  ore  has  been  worked  since  1817,  by  a  series  of  con- 
centric steps  extending  around  it  and  open  to  the  day.  The 
establishments  of  the  company  are  situated  at  Moresnet, 
Saint  Leonard,  Angleur,  and  Tilfth,  and  they  produced  in 
1851  from  their  own  ores  11,500  tons  of  zinc,*  which  is  78 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  production  of  Belgium  in  that  year. 
A  much  larger  quantity  than  that  stated  above,  amounting  in 
1851  to  14,025  tons,  is  sold  by  the  company,  the  additional 
amount  being  obtained  by  purchases  of  crude  zinc  from 
Silesia,  which  is  worked  up  in  their  establishments.  Of  this 
quantity  6000  tons  were  sold  in  the  form  of  rolled  zinc ;  the 
remainder  was  mostly  sent  to  France  in  the  crude  state,  as 
the  company  has  extensive  rolling  mills  in  that  country. 

There  are  several  other  companies  in  the  province  of 
Liege  engaged  in  manufacturing  zinc ;  that  of  Corfalie  pro- 
ducing 1800  tons  of  zinc,  besides  500  of  lead ;  that  of  La 
Kouvelle  Montagne  furnishing  1500  tons  of  the  former,  and 
300  of  the  latter  metal.  Besides  these  there  are  one  or  two 

*  Herbet,  Cons.  Gen.  de  France  en  Belgique,  Ann.  des  Mines  (5),  ii.  609. 


344  ZINC    IN    PRUSSIA. 

smaller  establishments,  calculated  to  supply  from  1000  to 
2000  tons  annually. 

The  production  of  zinc  in  Belgium  has  been  developed 
with  great  rapidity  in  the  last  few  years.  In  1835,  it  hardly 
exceeded  2000  or  3000  tons ;  and  in  1851  it  had  reached 
14,750  tons,  and  was  still  on  the  increase.  The  establish- 
ments are  managed  with  great  skill. 

PRUSSIA. — The  zinc  business  is  extensively  carried  on  in  this 
country,  and  especially  in  the  province  of  Upper  Silesia, 
which  produces  nine-tenths  of  the  whole  amount  of  this 
metal  furnished  by  Prussia,  although  there  are  several  locali- 
ties in  the  Rhine  provinces  where  zinc  ores  are  obtained  in 
some  quantity.* 

The  metalliferous  district  of  Silesia  is  situated  near  Tarno- 
witz  and  Beuthen,  and  in  this  region  there  are  numerous 
mines  of  lead,  iron,  and  coal,  as  well  as  of  zinc.  The  ores 
of  the  latter  metal  are  reduced  in  several  smelting-works, 
situated  on  the  coal-basin  south  of  Beuthen,  while  those  of 
lead  are  smelted  at  a  furnace  near  Tarnowitz. 

The  town  of  Beuthen  is  situated  on  a  limestone,  which  is 
referred  to  the  Muschelkalk,  or  Upper  £s"ew  Red  Sandstone, 
and  which  extends  towards  the  east  into  Poland,  and  is 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  coal  measures.  The  zinc 
ores  rest  on  strata  of  the  Muschelkalk,  which  occurs  in  not 
very  thick  beds,  regularly  stratified,  and  nearly  horizontal. 
It  is  almost  always  changed  in  character,  and  bleached,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  metalliferous  deposits.  It  presents 
a  very  irregular  surface,  being  often  hollowed  out  into  cavi- 
ties, of  greater  or  less  extent,  in  which  masses  of  dolomite 
have  been  accumulated.  These  have  no  regular  stratifica- 
tion, and  are  everywhere  easily  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
limestone.  The  largest  of  the  dolomitic  deposits  occurs  near 
Tarnowitz,  and  extends  into  Poland,  being  everywhere  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  principal  beds  of  calamine. 
Another  one,  which  lies  south  of  Tarnowitz,  contains  de- 
posits of  galena.  These  metalliferous  deposits  are  found  in 
depressions  in  the  surface  of  the  limestone,  either  near  the 

*  See  Rivot,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xiii.  271,  and  v.  Huene,  Zeitschrift  der  Deut- 
schen  Geol.  Gesells.,  iv.  071. 


SILESIA  —  WESTPHALIA.  345 

dolomitic  beds,  or  directly  under  them.  The  ore  thus  occur- 
ring is  calamine,  and  there  are  two  forms  of  it,  the  so-called 
"white  deposits,"  and  "red  deposits."  The  former  are 
interstratified  with  white  clay,  the  entire  mass  of  alternating 
layers  of  clay  and  zinc  ore  being  generally  from  3  to  6  feet 
thick,  rarely  as  much  as  12  feet.  The  whole  appearance  of 
the  layers  indicates  that  they  were  originally  deposited,  in  a 
succession  of  thin  strata,  in  the  tranquil  waters  of  small 
basins  in  the  limestone.  The  yield  of  this  variety  of  ore  is 
from  20  to  30  per  cent,  of  metallic  zinc.  Sometimes  the 
calamine  is  associated  with  iron  ore,  or  is  colored  by  a  large 
'percentage  of  oxide  of  iron.  Such  deposits  are  confined  to 
the  dolomite,  and  are  destitute  of  stratification,  and  seem  to 
have  had  a  different  origin  from  that  indicated  above.  Oc- 
casionally there  are  two  such  beds  of  ore,  one  above  the 
other. 

The  mine  of  Scharley  is  worked  in  one  of  the  largest  of 
these  ore  beds.  In  this  locality,  the  white  deposit,  which  is 
comparatively  thin,  is  separated  from  the  red  by  a  seam  of 
clay.  It  is  worked,  in  part,  by  open  pits.  The  upper  por- 
tion of  the  metalliferous  stratum  contained  a  large  quantity 
of  galena,  which  was  formerly  extensively  mined.  The 
depth  already  attained  by  the  workings  is  a  little  over  100 
feet.  At  the  surface,  the  open  pit  has  a  length  of  1500  feet, 
and  a  width  of  750. 

At  the  Lydognia  furnace,  a  considerable  quantity  of  cad- 
mium is  obtained  from  the  zinc,  the  former  metal  being 
separated  from  the  latter  by  distillation.  The  first  portion 
of  the  oxide  of  zinc  collected  from  the  apparatus  is  much  the 
richest  in  cadmium,  and  this  is  reserved,  and  afterwards  inti- 
mately mixed  with  charcoal  and  subjected  to  a  very  slow 
distillation,  at  as  low  a  temperature  as  possible ;  this  process 
is  repeated  several  times,  until  a  sufficient  degree  of  purity 
is  attained. 

In  Westphalia,  there  are  zinc  works  near  Iserlohn,  but 
they  have  produced  only  a  small  quantity  of  metal. 

In  the  Rhenish  mining  district  there  are,  near  Stolberg, 
some  deposits  of  calamine,  but  they  are  not  to  be  depended 
on  for  any  large  supply.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  work 


346  ZINC    IN    AUSTRIA. 

zinc  blende  at  Muhlheim,  Diissel,  and  Bohrbeck,  without 
much  success,  owing  to  the  low  price  of  zinc. 

In  1852,  an  English  company  commenced  mining  and 
smelting  zinc  at  Bergisch  Gladbach,  nine  miles  east  of 
Cologne  :  their  stock  stands  at  a  small  premium.  The  geo- 
logical features  of  the  deposit  of  ore  are  interesting.*  The 
calamine  lies  in  tunnel-shaped  depressions  in  dolomite  of 
palaeozoic  age,  which  is  covered  by  a  shale  containing  brown 
coal.  Blende  is  associated  with  the  calamine  in  such  a  way 
as  to  show  that  the  latter  is  the  result  of  the  decomposition 
of  the  former.  This  is  well  illustrated  at  the  Friihling  Mine, 
near  Altenbriick,  where  there  is  a  powerful  vein  of  blende, 
which,  at  the  surface,  is  converted  into  calamine,  and  in 
which  large  masses  of  this  ore  are  found  with  undecomposed 
blende  in  the  centre  of  them.  At  the  Gladbach  Mine,  the 
ores  are  found  in  fragments  lying  surrounded  by  clay,  as  if 
they  had  been  washed  together  into  the  depressions  of  the 
dolomite,  at  the  time  of  the  deposition  of  the  overlying 
shales. 

The  production  of  zinc  in  Prussia  is  very  large,  being 
fully  three-fifths  of  all  that  is  furnished  to  commerce  in  the 
world.  Since  1830,  it  has  increased  from  8600  tons  to  over 
30,000.  A  large  quantity  of  this  goes  to  England,  and  is 
partly  consumed  there,  and  partly  exported  to  India.  There 
is  also  a  great  demand  for  home  consumption,  as  the  metal 
is  constantly  being  introduced  into  use  in  new  forms ;  and  as 
no  other  part  of  Germany  furnishes  any  considerable  quan- 
tity of  zinc,  their  supply  is  drawn  chiefly  from  the  Silesian 
mines. 

AUSTRIA.  —  The  production  of  zinc  in  Austria  is  but 
trifling,  compared  with  that  of  Belgium  or  Prussia.  It 
amounted  in  1847  to  1395  tons,  and  has  probably  increased 
somewhat  since  that  time.  The  mines  are  chiefly  in  the 
provinces  of  Tyrol  and  Illyria. 

*  V.  Huene,  Zeitsch.  d.  Deutsch.  Geol.  Gesells.  iv.  571. 


ZINC    IN    THE    UNI.TED    STATES.  347 

SECTION  III. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE   ORES   OP   ZINC   IN    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

THE  ores  of  zinc  are  distributed  over  the  United  States  in 
great  abundance,  but  have,  as  yet,  hardly  begun  to  be 
worked.  Some  of  the  more  important  localities  will  be 
noticed. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. — Eaton  is  the  most  important  locality  of 
this  metal,  but  it  occurs  only  as  blende.  The  vein  will  be 
noticed  more  particularly  in  the  chapter  on  lead.  The  same 
ore  is  found  at  the  Shelburne  Mine,  and,  in  fact,  in  greater 
or  less  quantities  in  almost  every  metalliferous  vein  in  the 
state.  There  is,  at  Warren,  a  heavy  bed  of  black  blende 
mixed  with  copper  pyrites  and  galena.  The  zinc  itself  is  of 
no  value  at  present. 

NEW  YORK. — The  only  locality  in  this  state  which  has. 
been  worked  to  any  extent  for  zinc,  is  that  near  Wurtsboro, 
in  Sullivan  County,  formerly  called  the  Shawangunk  Mine, 
more  recently  known  as  the  Montgomery  Zinc  Mine.  Ac- 
cording to  Prof.  Mather,*  this  deposit  of  ore  occurs  in  a  bed 
parallel  with  the  strata  of  the  Shawangunk  Mountain,  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  Wurtsboro.  He  considers  it  a  true 
vein,  which,  from  his  own  description  of  it,  it  can  hardly  be. 
It  forms  a  segregated  mass,  varying  from  2  to  5  feet  in 
thickness,  and  the  larger  portion  of  which  is  made  up  of  a 
silicious  rock,  like  that  forming  the  roof  and  floor,  and  con- 
taining particles  of  greenish  and  blackish  slate.  The  metal- 
liferous contents  of  the  vein  are  blende,  galena,  copper 
pyrites,  and  iron  pyrites,  which  are  associated  with  crystal- 
lized quartz,  the  two  former  minerals  largely  predominating; 
the  leader  of  solid  ore  varies  from  a  mere  seam  to  three  feet 
in  thickness. 

In  1837,  and  for  some  time  afterwards,  considerable  work 
was  done  here,  and  about  100  tons  of  lead  ore  obtained :  the 
zinc,  however,  greatly  exceeded  the  lead  in  quantity.  Traces 
of  cobalt  and  silver  are  said  to  be  contained  in  the  ore. 

*  Report  on  Geology  of  N.  Y.,  p.  359. 


348  NEW    JERSEY    ZINC    MINES. 

The  New  York  and  Montgomery  Mining  Company  took 
up  this  mine,  which  had  been  abandoned  for  several  years, 
and  in  1851  and  1852  undertook  to  work  the  ore  in  the 
humid  way,  or,  in  other  words,  to  separate  the  various  metals 
it  contains,  in  the  form  of  oxide  of  zinc,  red  lead,  blue 
vitriol,  oxide  of  cobalt,  and  silver,  by  the  processes  followed 
in  the  laboratory  of  the  analytical  chemist.  This  attempt, 
as  might  have  been  foreseen  by  any  one  acquainted  with 
metallurgic  processes,  failed  entirely. 

The  quantity  of  the  ore  at  this  locality  is  said  to  be  large, 
but  as  the  zinc  greatly  predominates,  the  mine  cannot  be 
considered  at  present  as  of  any  value. 

There  are  many  other  places  in  this  state  where  blende 
occurs  in  small  quantity.  It  is  found  in  some  of  the  lead 
veins  of  St.  Lawrence  County,  but  not  to  any  extent,  and 
does  not  appear  to  become  more  abundant  in  depth.  In  the 
geodes  of  the  Niagara  Limestone,  in  the  vicinity  of  Roches- 
ter, Lockport,  and  Niagara  Falls,  it  is  found  in  small  crystals. 
Massive  zinc  blende  occurs  at  the  Ancram  Lead  Mine. 

NEW  JERSEY. — The  zinc  ores  of  this  state  are  of  very  con- 
siderable interest  and  importance,  and  are  now  quite  exten- 
sively worked,  being,  until  recently,  the  only  mines  of  this 
metal  on  the  American  Continent. 

The  zinc  deposits  of  New  Jersey  are  in  Sussex  County,  on 
a  range  of  hills  which  commences  near  Sparta,  and  extends 
in  a  southerly  direction  through  Sterling  to  Franklin,  in 
which  latter  places  are  the  only  beds  of  ore  at  present  known. 
They  are  found  in  connection  with  a  white  crystalline  lime- 
stone, which  can  be  traced  from  Orange  County,  in  New 
York,  to  several  miles  beyond  Stirling.  This  limestone  is 
regarded  by  Prof.  H.  D.  Rogers  as  a  Lower  Silurian  rock, 
altered  by  the  heating  agency  of  igneous  injections.  It  is 
associated  with  a  quartz  and  feldspar  rock,  which  appears  to 
have  the  character  of  an  igneous  intrusive  mass,  and  to  have 
rendered  the  limestone  crystalline,  and  given  it  its  present 
position  and  appearance.  The  intrusive  rock  seems  to  form 
dykes  in  the  limestone,  which  is  tilted  up  at  a  high  angle. 
At  the  Stirling  Hill,  the  ore  lies  in  a  position  which  may  be 
represented  by  the  annexed  section  (Fig.  36).  The  bed  of 


STIRLING    MINE.  .    349 

zinc  ore  rests,  with  a  steep  southeast  dip,  against  a  bed  of 
Franklinite,  and  both  coincide  in  dip  with  the  limestone  in 


Fig.  36. 


Section  of  the  zinc  and  Franklinite  beds  at  Stirling. 

which  they  are  contained.  A  portion  of  the  rocks  covering 
the  ore-bed  on  the  face  of  the  hill  has  been  removed,  to  a 
depth  of  about  70  feet,  as  indicated  on  the  section  by  the 
dotted  line.  The  outer  bed,  thus  exposed,  is  a  mixture  of 
the  red  oxide  of  zinc  with  Franklinite ;  its  width  at  the 
surface  was  about  3  feet,  but  it  widens  out  to  8J  feet  in 
descending.  Next  to  this  is  the  bed  of  Franklinite,  which 
is  from  20  to  30  feet  in  width.  Beyond  is  the  crystalline 
limestone,  dipping  70°  to  80°  to  the  southeast,  like  the  in- 
tercalated metalliferous  beds,  and  succeeded  by  the  before- 
mentioned  quartz  and  feldspar  rock. . 

At  Mine  Hill,  in  Franklin,  the  same  succession  of  lime- 
stone and  metalliferous  beds  may  be  observed,  the  intrusive 
rock  being  there  a  kind  of  sienite,  and  the  blue  limestone 
having  been  converted  into  a  white  crystalline  mass  along 
the  line  of  contact  of  the  two  formations ;  the  zinc  ore  and 
Franklinite  forming  intercalated  beds  within  it. 

The  existence  of  zinc  ores  at  Stirling  Hill  has  been  known 
for  many  years,  and  numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to 
work  it  at  different  times,  all  of  which,  up  to  the  time  when 
the  present  company  commenced  operations,  had  proved  un- 
successful, more  from  want  of  knowledge  and  of  a  demand 
for  zinc,  than  from  any  inherent  difficulty  of  reducing  the 
ore.  The  substitution  of  the  oxide  of  zinc  for  white  lead 


350  NEW    JERSEY   ZINC    COMPANY. 

as  a  pigment,  one  of  the  most  important  improvements  in 
the  application  of  chemistry  to  the  arts,  as  a  measure  both 
of  sanitary  and  of  economical  value,  rendered  it  possible  for 
companies  in  this  country,  under  favorable  circumstances,  to 
compete  with  the  great  European  establishments  in  furnish- 
ing our  own  market  with  zinc  paint.  The  success  of  a  com- 
pany which  should  engage  in  manufacturing  the  metal  itself, 
would  be,  under  present  circumstances,  quite  problematical. 
The  New  Jersey  Zinc  Company  was  organized  in  1848. 
Their  works  are  situated  at  Newark,  and  are  arranged  on 
the  most  extensive  scale,  and  with  a  perfection  in  the  details 
worthy  of  all  commendation.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  only  important  contributions  to  practical  metallurgy 
which  have  been  made  in  this  country,  are  those  connected 
with  the  working  of  zinc  ores.  The  white  oxide  is  manu- 
factured directly  from  the  ore,  which  is  a  mixture  of  the  red 
oxide  and  Franklinite ;  the  metallic  vapors,  as  they  are 
given  off  by  the  reduction  of  the  heated  mixture  of  ore  and 
coal,  being  burned  into  oxide  by  the  introduction  of  atmos- 
pheric air  into  the  flue  through  which  they  are  passing. 
The  oxide  thus  formed  is  drawn,  by  the  suction  of  a  fan- 
blast,  after  depositing  the  heavier  particles  of  mechanically- 
intermixed  coal  and  other  impurities,  into  a  cotton  cylinder 
of  great  length,  from  which  depend  bags  of  the  same  mate- 
rial, in  which  the  oxide  is  collected.  It  is  the  intention  of 
the  company  to  grind  most  of  the  oxide  in  oil,  before  dis- 
posing of  it,  in  order  to  prevent  adulteration. 

The  amount  of  oxide  of  zinc  manufactured  by  this  com- 
pany has  been  as  follows : — 

Year  ending  November, 
1852.  1853. 

No.  1,    .         .         .   2,041,736  3,832,036 

"     2,    .         .         .     282,890  157,000 

"     3,    .          .         .      100,880  54,379 


Total,         .         .         .         2,425,506  =  1083  tons.  4,043,415=1805  tons. 

Or  metallic  zinc,         .         .         .  860  tons,  1440  tons. 

The  estimates  of  the  production  for  the  current  year  are 
3570  tons  of  oxide,  equal  to  2850  of  metal,  as  the  furnaces 


ZINC    IN    PENNSYLVANIA.  351 

have  recently  been  doubled  in  number,  and  the  arrangements 
in  every  way  rendered  more  perfect. 

During  the  year  1853,  the  company  netted  a  profit  of 
$90,592  16,  and  paid  $42,944  50  in  dividends. 

PENNSYLVANIA. — Among  the  numerous  deposits  of  zinc 
ore  in  this  state,  the  only  ones  which  have  become  of  any  im- 
portance are  those  of  the  Saucon  Valley,  near  Friedensville, 
Lehigh  County.  These  have  been  known  for  several  years, 
and  quite  extensive  explorations  have  been  made  at  various 
times  to  ascertain  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  ores. 
Within  the  last  year,  furnaces  for  manufacturing  the  white 
oxide  have  been  established  at  Bethlehem,  about  four  miles 
from  Friedensville,  and  mining  commenced  on  an  extensive 
scale. 

The  ore  is  almost  entirely  the  silicate  of  zinc,  of  a  very 
good  quality,  being  remarkably  free  from  intermixture 
with  lead  or  iron.  The  deposits  are  in  the  form  of  included 
beds,  in  a  blue  compact  limestone,  which  belongs  to  the 
Lower  Silurian  system,  and  is  apparently  the  equivalent 
of  the  Calciferous  Sandstone  of  the  New  York  geologists. 
Numerous  openings  have  been  made  at  various  points  in  the 
vicinity  of  Friedensville,  which  have  demonstrated  the  exis- 
tence of  an  immense  body  of  ore  of  excellent  quality.  The 
principal  excavations  have  been  made  on  the  Stadiger  and 
Ueberoth  estates.  On  the  latter,  the  main  opening,  a  year 
ago,  was  70  feet  in  length,  and  it  exposed  the  zinc  ore  in  one 
place  to  a  depth  of  56  feet,  and  over  a  width  of  more  than 
twenty  feet.  The  direction  of  the  body  of  ore  is  about  north 
70°  east,  which  is  that  of  the  strata  of  limestone  adjacent;  its 
whole  width  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  it  is  very  consi- 
derable, as  there  are  several  parallel  bands,  which  together 
must  have  a  width  exceeding  fifty  feet,  so  that  the  quantity 
may  be  considered  as  amply  sufficient  to  encourage  the  erec- 
tion of  the  most  extensive  works. 

The  whole  of  this  property  is  now  under  the  control  of  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Lehigh  Zinc  Company,  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1853.  The  smelting  furnaces  are  at  Bethlehem, 
and  were  erected  under  the  direction  of  Samuel  Wetherill, 
Esq.,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  the  oxide  directly 


352  ZINC    IN    WISCONSIN. 

from  the  ore,  by  a  patented  process  of  his  own  invention. 
The  works  are  calculated  to  produce  ten  tons  of  the  oxide 
per  day.  The  ore  yields  in  the  furnace  from  40  to  60  per 
cent.,  and  costs  to  mine  and  deliver  at  the  furnace,  as  esti- 
mated by  the  company,  $1  50  per  ton ;  the  expense  of  manu- 
facturing, which  is  done  by  contract,  averages  $50  per  ton 
of  oxide  produced. 

Operations  had  hardly  been  commenced  at  the  close  of 
1853. 

WESTERN  LEAD  REGION. — The  ores  of  zinc  are  plentifully 
distributed  through  the  lead  mines  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
but  nowhere,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  in 
sufficient  abundance,  or  so  advantageously  situated,  as  to 
render  them  of  any  value  for  working. 

In  Wisconsin,  the  silicate  of  zinc  occurs  frequently,  asso- 
ciated with  galena,  and  is  usually  called  "dry-bone"*  by 
the  miners ;  black-jack,  or  the  ferruginous  sulphuret,  is  still 
more  common. 

The  same  ores  of  zinc  are  also  found,  in  small  quantities, 
at  several  of  the  Missouri  lead  mines.  Their  mode  of  occur- 
rence is  similar  in  every  respect  to  that  of  the  Wisconsin 
ores. 

No  one  acquainted  with  the  manufacture  of  zinc  ores  into 
metal  or  oxide,  would  recommend  the  establishment  of 
works  for  this  purpose  in  the  western  lead  region,  as  the 
business  cannot  be  made  profitable,  against  the  competition 
of  the  Belgian  and  Prussian  manufactories,  except  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances  of  situation,  and  an  abundant 
supply  of  ore  which  can  be  obtained  without  any  conside- 
rable mining  cost.  The  zinc  deposits  of  the  West  do  not 
satisfy  these  conditions,  either  as  regards  quantity  or  quality 
of  the  ore,  or  the  proximity  of  fuel. 

There  are  no  farther  deposits  of  zinc  ore  in  this  country 
worthy  of  notice  at  present. 

The  statistics  of  the  production  of  zinc  throughout  the 
world,  so  far  as  they  could  be  procured,  are  given  in  the 
following  table,  in  tons.  Full  statistics  of  Belgium  could 

*  The  dry-bone  of  the  Missouri  miners  is  an  impure  earthy  carbonate  of  lead. 


STATISTICS    OF    ZINC. 


353 


not  be  obtained,  but  the  figures  given  will  indicate  the 
rapidly-increasing  production  of  that  country,  and  its  pre- 
sent approximate  amount. 


~ 

1 

'3 

. 

s 

1 

s 

.2 

C3 

1 

'3 

1 

3 

'So 

'w 

N 

'5 

2 

s 

2 

£ 

*o> 

3 

a 

a 

'2 

PS 

02 

O 

0 

* 

E 

S3 

1825, 

104 

1830, 

8,590  av. 

4 

30 

1835, 

2,500 

7,200  " 

6 

1840, 

10,980  " 

105 

1845, 

17,100  " 

388 

1846, 

22,260 

413 

1847, 

22,400 

352 

1848, 

4,000 

1,000 

6,500 

20,190 

1,395 

1849, 

26,270 

1850, 

36 

28,670 

3 

0 

1851, 

4,000 

14,750 

30,620 

1852, 

860 

1853, 

1,450 

The  production  of  zinc  for  1853  was  nearly  as  follows : — 


Tons.        Relative  Amount. 


Russia  (Poland), 4,000 

Great  Britain, 1,000 

Belgium, 15,000 

Prussia, 32,000 

Austria, 1,500 

United  States, 1,500 


55,000 


7-3 

1-8 

27-3 

58-2 

2-7 

2-7 

100-0 


According  to  the  estimates  of  the  two  companies  now 
producing  the  oxide  in  this  country,  we  may  calculate  on  a 
production  for  the  present  year  equivalent  to  between  5000 
and  6000  tons  of  the  metal. 

The  universal  use  of  the  oxide  of  zinc,  in  preference  to 
white  lead,  is  most  earnestly  to .  be  desired,  not  so  much 
on  account  of  its  superiority  as  a  pigment,  as  because  it  is 
perfectly  free  from  the  poisonous  qualities  which  are  so 
ruinous  to  the  health  of  those  who  use  paints  in  which  lead 
is  an  ingredient. 


23 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LEAD,  AND  SILVER  IN  PART. 
SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE  AND  GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  OP  THE  ORES 

OF  LEAD. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — The  variety  of  forms  under 
which  lead  occurs  in  nature  is  very  great,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  list  of  the  plumbiferous  minerals.  Almost 
the  whole  quantity  furnished  to  commerce,  however,  is  de- 
rived from  one  ore,  the  sulphuret. 

NATIVE    METAL. 

Native  Lead.  The  metal  lead  combines  so  readily  with 
oxygen  that  it  is  hardly  probable  that  it  would  be  found  in 
its  native  state,  except  in  minute  quantities,  as  an  accidental 
product  of  the  decomposition  of  its  ores,  and  not  in  a  per- 
manent form. 

COMBINATIONS   WITH    SULPHUR,   SELENIUM,   TELLURIUM,  ANTIMONY. 

Galena,  Sulphuret  of  Lead  ;  containing  one  atom  of  each : 
in  percentage,  13-34  of  sulphur,  and  86-66  of  lead.  Hardly 
any  other  ore  occurs  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  an  object  of 
much  commercial  importance.  Galena  is  almost  invariably 
argentiferous ;  it  may  be  safely  stated  that  no  galena  is  des- 
titute of  at  least  a  trace  of  silver.  In  many  cases  this  metal 
is  present  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  worth  separating,  and 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  silver  of  commerce  is  obtained 
from  this  source.  The  silver  of  the  American  Continent  is 
mostly  derived  from  the  ores  proper,  but  all  this  metal  pro- 
duced in  England,  and  a  very  large  part  of  that  of  the  Con- 
tinent, is  separated  from  lead. 


MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    OF    LEAD.          355 

The  percentage  of  silver  in  galena  is  very  variable,  even 
in  the  same  locality ;  but,  as  previously  stated,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  find  a  specimen  of  this  ore  which  would  not 
show,  by  delicate  analysis,  at  least  a  trace  of  it.  In  the 
European  lead  ores,  the  amount  of  silver  present  varies  from 
0*03  to  7-0  per  cent.  In  England,  the  average  quantity  con- 
tained in  the  lead  which  is  worked  for  silver  is  7  or  8  ounces 
per  ton.  The  galena  of  the  lead  region  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  hardly  contains  any  silver.  But  there  are,  in  some 
of  the  eastern  mines,  ores  yielding  as  high  as  70  or  80 
ounces  to  the  ton. 

Cuproplumbite,  Sulphuret  of  Lead  and  Copper.  A  rare 
mineral  found  in  Chili. 

Clausthalite,  Seleniuret  of  Lead ;  occurs  in  the  Harz  mines ; 
it  resembles  galena  in  appearance. 

Altaite,  Teiluret  of  Lead ;  found  in  the  Altai  Mountains. 

Zinkenite,  Sulphuret  of  Lead  and  Antimony;  occurs  in 
the  Harz. 

Dufrenoysite,  Heteromorphite,  Boulangerite,  Jamesonite,  G-eo- 
cronite,  Plagionite.  These  are  combinations  of  sulphur  with 
lead  and  antimony,  or  lead  and  arsenic ;  interesting  minera- 
logically,  but  not  important  in  a  commercial  point  of  view. 

Kobellite,  Sulphuret  of  Lead,  Antimony,  and  Bismuth; 
occurs  in  the  cobalt  mines  of  Sweden. 

COMBINATIONS   WITH    OXYGEN. 

There  are  three  oxides  of  lead  which  are  found  native,  but 
all  in  small  quantity. 

Plumbic  Ochre,  Lead  Ochre,  Litharge.  An  oxide  of  lead, 
with  one  atom  of  each  constituent ;  in  percentage,  7*17  of 
oxygen,  and  92-83  of  lead.  This  is  the  yellow  oxide,  which 
was  formerly  used  as  a  paint,  under  the  name  of  massicot ;  but 
it  is  now  superseded  by  the  chromate  of  lead.  Litharge  is  the 
same,  after  having  undergone  fusion,  when  it  is  converted 
into  delicate  scales  with  a  high  lustre.  It  is  very  rare  as  a 
native  ore. 

Minium,  Red  Lead.  An  oxide  containing  three  atoms  of 
lead  to  four  of  oxygen,  or  9*34  of  oxygen  to  90-66  of  metal. 
As  it  occurs  in  nature,  it  is  generally  mixed  with  plumbic 


356          MINERALOGICAL    OCCURRENCE    OF    LEAD. 

ochre.     It  is  found,  in  this  country,  at  Austin's  Mine,  in 
Virginia. 

Plattnerite,  Superoxide  of  Lead ;  contains  one  atom  of 
lead  to  two  of  oxygen.  A  rare  ore. 

COMBINATIONS    WITH   CHLORINE. 

Mendipite,  Chloride  of  Lead.  A  comhination  of  the  oxide 
and  chloride  of  lead,  containing  chloride  of  lead  38*4,  and 
oxide  of  lead  61-6  per  cent.  It  is  a  rare  substance. 

Corneous  Lead,  Horn  Lead.  A  rare  ore,  containing  one 
atom  of  chloride  and  one  of  carbonate  of  lead.  Occurs  at 
Matlock,  in  England. 


OXYGEN    SALTS    OF    LEAD. 


These  are  very  numerous,  and  some  of  them  are  of  some 
importance  as  ores. 

Cerusite,  White  Lead  Ore.  A  carbonate  of  lead,  contain- 
ing carbonic  acid  16-4,  and  oxide  of  lead  83-6  per  cent,  or 
77*7  per  cent,  of  metallic  lead.  The  finest  specimens  in  this 
country  were  from  the  Washington  Mine,  in  North  Caro- 
lina, the  Phcenixville  Mines,  Pa.,  and  Mine  La  Motte,  in 
Missouri.  It  is  a  valuable  ore,  and  is  not  unfrequently 
found  in  some  quantity  in  the  lead-bearing  veins,  near  the 
surface,  as  one  of  the  products  of  decomposition  of  the  sul- 
phuret. 

Anglesite,  Sulphate  of  Lead,  Lead  Vitriol.  The  sulphate 
contains  26-4  of  sulphuric  acid  to  73-6  of  oxide  of  lead.  It 
is  another  product  of  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphuret. 
The  principal  locality  in  this  country  is  the  Wheatley  and 
Perkiomen  Mines,  in  Pa.  It  also  occurs  in  small  quantity 
in  the  Missouri  mines. 

Linarite.  A  combination  of  sulphate  of  lead  with  hy- 
drated  oxide  of  copper ;  occurs  at  Leadhills,  England,  and 
Linares,  in  Spain. 

Leadhillite.  A  combination  of  the  sulphate  and  carbonate 
of  lead.  Its  principal  locality  is  Leadhills,  in  England. 

Lanarlcite.  Another  ore  analogous  to  the  last  mentioned, 
with  one  atom  of  the  carbonate  and  one  of  the  sulphate. 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION.  357 

Cakdonite.  A  sulphate  of  lead  combined  with  carbonate 
of  lead  and  carbonate  of  copper. 

Pyromorphite,  Phosphate  of  Lead.  A  complex  combi- 
nation of  the  phosphate  of  the  oxide  of  lead  with  chloride 
and  fluoride  of  the  same  metal.  It  contains  about  90  per 
cent,  of  phosphate  of  lead.  Fine  crystallizations  were  for- 
merly obtained  at  the  Washington  Mine,  North  Carolina, 
and  it  is  so  abundant  at  the  Chester  County  Mines,  Penn- 
sylvania, as  to  have  been  worked  as  an  ore.  It  is  found  in 
small  quantity  at  most  of  the  lead  mines  of  Europe. 

Mimetene,  Green  Lead  Ore.  A  mineral  resembling  pyro- 
morphite  in  composition,  except  that  it  contains  arsenic  acid 
instead  of  phosphoric.  It  is  found  in  small  quantity  in  some 
of  the  Cornish  and  Cumberland  (England)  lead  mines. 

Vanadinite,  Vanadate  of  Lead.  A  rare  mineral,  first  dis- 
covered in  Mexico. 

Crocomte,  Chromate  of  Lead.  A  beautiful,  but  rare  ore, 
of  which  the  finest  specimens  come  from  the  Ural  Mountains. 

Melanochroite,  is  another  rare  chromate  of  lead. 

Vauquelinite,  is  a  chromate  of  lead  and  copper. 

Bleinierite,  is  an  antimoniate  of  lead. 

Plumbo-resinite,  an  ore  containing  oxide  of  lead,  alumina, 
and  water. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION. — The  ores  of  lead  are  abundantly 
distributed  through  the  geological  series,  but  their  greatest 
concentration  is  in  the  Lower  Silurian  and  carboniferous 
groups.  In  this  position  they  do  not  usually  form  true  veins, 
but  occur  in  irregular  bunches  and  gash-veins,  often  very  rich 
in  a  certain  stratum  of  rock,  and  giving  out  entirely  on 
entering  another.  Deposits  of  lead  ore  are  not  generally  rich 
in  silver,  unless  the  formation  in  which  they  occur  has  been 
metamorphosed  and  rendered  crystalline.  The  argentife- 
rous ores  are  mostly  in  the  older  rocks,  and  although  not  so 
abundant  near  the  surface  as  the  deposits  in  the  less  crystal- 
line rocks,  they  are  more  persistent  in  depth,  and  often  make 
up  by  their  richness  in  silver  for  their  smaller  yield  of  lead. 

The  ores  of  lead  frequently  undergo  decomposition  at  the 
surface,  the  normal  ore,  galena,  being  converted  into  a  great 
variety  of  oxidized  combinations,  of  which  the  carbonate, 


358    GEOLOGICAL    POSITION    OF   THE    ORES    OF    LEAD. 

sulphate,  and  phosphate  are  the  most  common.  If  the  lead 
ore  is  rich  in  silver,  this  metal  is  often  found  near  the  surface 
in  its  native  state,  in  dendritic  bunches  and  spongy  masses, 
having  been  evidently  separated  and  concentrated  from  the 
galena  during  the  process  of  its  decomposition.  Lead  and 
zinc  are  metals  whose  ores  occur  intimately  associated  with 
each  other.  The  great  veins  of  argentiferous  galena  which 
have  been  so  extensively  worked  in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
usually  carry  a  considerable  amount  of  blende,  which  some- 
times exceeds  in  quantity  all  the  other  ores.  The  zinc  ores 
do  not  generally  contain  so  much  silver  as  the  accompanying 
galena;  frequently  they  are  destitute  of  it  altogether,  although 
there  are  instances  in  which  the  blende  associated  with  lead 
ores  has  the  same  richness  in  the  precious  metals  which  they 
have.  In  many  instances,  in  Europe  and  in  this  country, 
it  has  been  observed  that  the  zinc  gains  upon  the  lead  in 
depth.  Hardly  an  instance  has  been  noticed  where  there 
was  a  decrease  in  the  quantity  of  the  zinc  ores  in  descending. 
In  the  argentiferous  lead  mines  it  is  frequently  found  that 
the  tenor  of  silver  in  the  ore  becomes  less  as  the  depth  in- 
creases, and  the  same  is  true,  with  some  exceptions,  where 
silver  ores  proper  are  worked. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  of  the  ores  of  lead,  with  more 
positiveness  even  than  of  those  of  the  other  metals,  that  the 
nearer  the  approach  of  the  deposit  to  a  true  vein  in  character, 
the  more  persistent  are  its  metallic  contents  in  depth,  and 
the  greater  the  chance  of  its  being  profitably  wrought. 

Hitherto,  the  larger  part  of  the  lead  furnished  to  com- 
merce has  been  obtained  from  irregular  deposits,  and  segre- 
gated and  gash-veins,  of  extraordinary  richness  near  the 
surface,  but  not  holding  out  in  depth ;  as  these  are  gradually 
worked  out,  the  number  of  mines  in  the  older  rocks  is 
increasing,  and  many  which  had  been  previously  abandoned 
are  being  resumed ;  indicating  that  hereafter  a  larger  portion 
of  this  metal  than  heretofore  is  to  be  the  produce  of  work- 
ings in  true  veins,  in  the  older,  crystalline  rocks. 

A  sufficient  number  of  facts  illustrating  this  will  be 
found  in  the  succeeding  section,  and  the  changes  which  are 
going  on  in  the  production  of  lead  will  not  fail  to  be  noticed. 


LEAD    MINES    IN    RUSSIA.  359 

SECTION  II. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE   ORES    OP   LEAD   IN   FOREIGN   COUNTRIES. 

KUSSIAN  EMPIRE. — The  silver-lead  ores  of  Siberia  are  of 
very  considerable  importance.  According  to  the  Russian 
mining  engineers,  the  principal  mines  are  situated  in  the 
Altai  and  Nertschinsk  districts;  but  there  are  others,  the 
exploration  of  which  has  but  recently  commenced,  in  the 
Caucasus,  in  the  country  of  the  Kirghises,  and  beyond  the 
Irtysch.  There  are  also  lead  and  silver  veins  in  the  Ural 
Mountains,  and  in  the  country  bordering  on  the  Don. 

In  the  Altai,  as  well  as  the  Ural,  there  are  abundant  traces 
of  mining  at  a  very  early  period,  of  which  no  records  have 
preserved  any  account,  and  which  is  usually  ascribed  to  the 
Fins ;  their  excavations,  however,  were  confined  to  the  sur- 
face, for  want  of  suitable  tools  to  excavate  the  solid  rock. 
The  Altai  mines,  in  the  valley  of  the  Ob,  have  been  worked 
since  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  The  total  yield  of 
the  mines  of  this  district,  up  to  1835,  had  been  over  3,000,000 
Ibs.  of  silver,  which  contained  nearly  100,000  Ibs.  of  gold. 
The  annual  production  at  present  is  about  44,000  Ibs.  of 
silver.  Of  eleven  mines,  now  working,  those  of  Zerinofsk 
and  Krioakofsk  possess  the  richest  ores :  their  average  yield 
of  silver  is  0*1  per  cent. 

The  mining  region  of  Nertschinsk  is  situated  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  Government  of  Irkutsk,  between  50°  and 
53°  north  latitude,  and  131°  and  138°  east  longitude.*  The 
existence  of  ores  was  made  known  to  the  world  in  1691,  by 
Admiral  Golownin,  and  they  soon  after  began  to  be  worked, 
and  seem  to  have  attained  their  maximum  production  in 
1771,  when  they  yielded  about  27,600  Ibs.  troy  of  silver; 
from  this  time  forward  the  produce  fell  away,  till  1827,  when 
a  systematic  scientific  attempt  was  made  to  place  these  mines 
on  a  more  permanent  footing.  They  are  now  subdivided  into 
five  sub-districts. 

*  Von  Wersilow,  Verhandlungen  der  Russ..  Kais.  Min.  Gesellschaft,  Jahrgang 
1848-1849,  p.  44. 


360  LEAD    MINES    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

The  general  character  of  these  deposits  seems  to  be  that  of 
stockwerk  mines,  and  of  lenticular  masses  of  ore  arranged 
in  linear  succession  in  the  limestone,  and  connected  by 
thin  thread-like  veins  of  mineral.  They  all  give  out  at  a 
comparatively  small  depth. 

The  Wodwishkenski  Mine  consists  of  a  series  of  nests  of 
ore,  connected  by  sometimes  hardly-perceptible  threads.  It 
has  been  worked  to  a  depth  of  65  fathoms.  The  gangue  is 
ochrey  iron  (gossan),  and  talc.  The  Ivanow  Mine  is  in  a 
stockwerk,  14  fathoms  long,  about  the  same  in  breadth,  and 
some  20  fathoms  deep. 

The  produce  in  lead  of  all  the  ^"ertschinsk  Mines  was,  in 
1847,  214  tons,  and  of  silver  7940  Ibs.  troy. 

The  total  amount  of  lead  furnished  by  the  Russian  Empire 
hardly  comes  up  to  1000  tons ;  that  of  silver,  which  is  exclu- 
sively derived  from  the  working  of  argentiferous  galena  and 
from  the  native  gold,  has  been  given  in  the  table  of  silver 
statistics  at  about  60,000  Ibs. 

SWEDEN. — The  number  of  active  silver-lead  mines  in  Swe- 
den was,  in  1849,  only  five.*  The  principal  ones  are  at  Sala, 
which  I  visited  in  1843.  They  are  in  the  azoic  limestone, 
which  forms  a  band  in  the  gneiss.  The  ore  is  not  obtained 
from  regular  veins,  but  from  parallel  bands  running  with  the 
stratification.  It  is  chiefly  galena,  containing  silver  in  the 
proportion  of  from  0*0015  to  0-0125,  or  49  to  408  ounces  to 
the  ton ;  but  it  reached  its  maximum  richness  at  a  depth  of 
from  500  to  650  feet,  and  the  mine  has,  since  that  time,  been 
falling  off'.  The  last  returns  give  the  yield  of  lead,  in  1850, 
as  only  196  tons,  and  of  silver  obtained  from  it,  3418  Ibs. 
The  former  metal  is  not  sufficiently  abundant  to  be  profitably 
worked,  except  for  the  sake  of  the  silver  it  contains. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. — On  examining  the  tables,  it  will  be  seen 
that  England  maintains  a  superiority  in  the  production  of 
lead,  as  well  as  of  tin,  copper,  and  iron.  The  ores  of  lead  are 
found  in  that  favored  country  in  a  variety  of  positions,  and 
under  a  variety  of  circumstances ;  and  the  production  of  this 
metal,  as  well  as  of  silver,  with  which  it  is  intimately  con- 
nected, is  increasing  from  year  to  year  with  regularity,  if  not 

*  Durocher,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xiv.  339. 


NORTH    OF    ENGLAND.  361 

with  rapidity.  The  introduction  of  new  processes  has  ren- 
dered it  possible  to  work  ores  which,  a  few  years  since, 
were  neglected,  and  great  changes  have  consequently  taken 
place  in  respect  to  the  locality  of  the  production.  The  lead- 
producing  districts  are  scattered  over  England,  Wales,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland. 

North  of  England.  The  lead  mining  district  of  the  North 
of  England  is  the  most  important  from  the  quantity  of  ore 
raised,  and  is  also  of  great  geological  interest.  It  lies  chiefly 
in  the  vicinity  of  Alston  Moor,  where  the  three  counties  of 
Northumberland,  Durham,  and  Cumberland  come  together. 
The  geological  formation  to  which  it  belongs  is  the  carboni- 
ferous limestone,  lying  beneath  the  coal  measures ;  the  name 
of  "  mountain  limestone"  is  also  frequently  given  to  it  by  the 
English  geologists.  Directly  above  this  limestone  lies  a 
coarse-grained  sandstone,  called  the  "millstone  grit,"  which 
forms  the  lower  limit  of  the  productive  coal-beds.  The  car- 
boniferous limestone  is  made  up  of  beds  of  limestone,  with 
intercalated  strata  of  marl,  the  stratification  being  nearly 
horizontal,  and  quite  regular.  There  are  about  twenty  beds 
of  limestone,  each  one  of  which  is  known  to  the  miners,  and 
generally  designated  by  a  name.  Two  of  the  thickest  are 
called  the  "  great  limestone"  and  the  "  scar  limestone ;"  of 
these,  the  former  is  about  60  feet  thick,  the  latter  130  feet. 
There  is  also  a  horizontal  mass  of  trap,  of  variable  thickness, 
sometimes  amounting  to  60  feet,  which  is  intercalated  be- 
tween the  beds  of  limestone,  in  an  irregular  manner.  It  is 
known  to  the  miners  as  the  "whin-sill,"  and  is  generally 
considered  to  be  an  igneous  rock,  injected  laterally  between 
the  strata.  The  principal  exploitations  are  on  the  so-called 
"rake-veins,"  or  true  transverse  veins;  but  the  miners  dis- 
tinguish two  other  classes  of  deposits,  called  by  them  also 
veins,  namely  pipe-veins  and  flat-veins.  The  rake-veins  pre- 
sent some  extraordinary  anomalies,  although  in  general  they 
exhibit  the  characteristics  of  true  veins ;  in  some  instances 
they  do  not  descend  through  the  various  strata  in  an  uninter- 
rupted manner,  but  are  arranged  in  zigzags,  one  portion  of 
a  vein  not  being  in  a  vertical  line  with  another  part  of  the 
same  vein,  above  or  below,  but  connecting  with  it  by  a  hori- 


362      LEAD    MINES    IN    THE    NORTH    OF    ENGLAND. 

zontal  prolongation.  This  flat  portion  of  the  vein  is  generally 
contained  in  a  rock  of  a  different  character  from  that  in  which 
the  vertical  part  fcis,  the  latter  being  in  the  limestone,  while 
the  transition  from  one  vertical  part  of  the  vein  to  another, 
by  a  horizontal  or  oblique  line,  is  in  the  slaty  or  marly  beds. 
The  veins,  also,  are  much  narrower  in  the  marl  or  sandstone 
than  in  the  limestone,  and,  at  the  same  time,  less  rich  in  ore. 
The  character  of  the  stratum  through  which  they  pass  has  a 
most  marked  influence  on  their  productiveness,  as  well  as 
their  width,  and  there  are  certain  beds  which  are  peculiarly 
metalliferous.  The  "great  limestone"  is  the  one  in  which 
the  veins  are  widest  and  richest,  and  in  that  belt  they  furnish 
more  ore  than  in  all  the  others  together.  Generally,  the 
veins  are  not  worked  below  the  "  four-fathom  limestone," 
which  is  153  fathoms  below  the  millstone  grit,  and  their  pro- 
ductive portion  is  limited  to  a  thickness  of  100  fathoms.  The 
workings  have  in  some  instances,  however,  been  carried  to 
a  depth  sufficient  to  reach  the  whin-sill,  and  it  is  said  that 
veins  have  been  traced  in  the  scar  limestone,  although  not 
worked  there.  The  pipe  and  flat  veins  are  masses  and  sheets 
of  ore,  subordinate  to  the  principal  veins ;  but  in  some  in- 
stances they  are  of  sufficient  extent  to  be  quite  productive. 

The  lead  region  of  Derbyshire  is,  in  some  respects,  quite 
similar  to  that  just  described,  but  is  more  complicated  in  its 
details.  The  whole  district,  which  is  some  25  miles  long,  has 
been  broken  up  by  faults,  which  have  deranged  the  conti- 
nuity of  the  strata.  Besides  this,  instead  of  one  intercalated 
bed  of  trap,  as  in  Cumberland,  the  whin-sill,  there  are  three 
distinct  belts  of  igneous  rock  associated  with  the  limestone, 
the  whole  series  of  beds  of  both  rocks  having  a  thickness  of 
over  1500  feet.  There  are  four  principal  strata  of  limestone, 
the  two  uppermost  being  about  150  feet  in  thickness  each, 
the  others  200  and  350  feet ;  the  three  belts  of  trap  which 
separate  them  are  generally  of  an  amygdaloidal  structure,  the 
amygdules  being  filled  with  calc.  spar  and  quartz ;  the  local 
name  of  the  rock  is  "toad-stone." 

The  same  names  are  applied  to  the  same  varieties  of  form 
of  metalliferous  deposit  as  in  Cumberland,  but  the  rake,  or 
transverse  veins,  are  the  only  ones  sufficiently  developed  to 


CORNWALL    AND    DEVON.  363 

be  of  any  practical  importance.  The  disposition  of  these 
veins  in  regard  to  the  strata  in  which  they  are  contained  is 
still  more  remarkable  than  in  Cumberland.  They  appear  to 
be  entirely  interrupted  in  the  toad-stone,  the  vein  disappear- 
ing as  soon  as  the  workings  enter  the  rock ;  this  is  not  true 
in  all  cases,  but  in  much  the  larger  number.  It  is  also  said 
that,  in  some  instances,  veins  thus  cut  off  by  the  toad-stone 
are  found  again  on  the  other  side,  on  reaching  the  limestone 
below. 

The  ordinary  gangues  of  these  veins  are  fluor-spar  and 
calc.  spar,  and  some  heavy  spar,  or  sulphate  of  baryta.  Spe- 
cimens of  the  fine  crystallizations  of  fluor-spar  occurring  here 
are  to  be  found  in  all  mineralogical  cabinets.  At  the  Great 
Exhibition  in  1851,  beautiful  models  and  sections  were  shown, 
illustrating  the  position  of  the  lead  mines  of  a  considerable 
tract  of  mining  ground  near  Alston  Moor  in  Cumberland, 
belonging  to  "W.  B.  Beaumont,  Esq.,  from  which  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  whole  quantity  of  lead  produced  in  England  is 
raised. 

Cornwall  and  Devon.  The  Cornish  lead-bearing  veins  have 
been  noticed  in  speaking  of  copper  and  tin.  These  mines 
were  wrought,  some  of  them  for  two  or  three  hundred  years, 
but  they  had  been  almost  abandoned  for  many  years  previous 
to  the  introduction  of  the  Pattinson  process  for  desilverizing 
lead,  which  effected  a  great  change  in  the  working  of  argen- 
tiferous lead  ores.  At  the  time  Boiiase  wrote,  in  1758,  only 
one  lead  mine  was  worked  in  Cornwall.  In  1839,  according 
to  De  la  Beche,  the  whole  produce  of  Cornwall  amounted  to 
scarcely  180  tons,  while  in  the  years  from  1845  to  1850  over 
10,000  tons  of  ore  were  raised  annually.  One  mine  alone,  of 
extraordinary  richness,  East  "Wheal  Rose,  produced  from 
1845  to  1849  from  3000  to  5000  tons  of  metallic  lead  annually, 
and  although  this  mine  has  somewhat  fallen  off,  others  have 
more  than  made  up  the  deficiency. 

In  Devonshire,  the  Combe  Martin  and  Beer  Alston  Mines 
have  long  been  celebrated  for  their  argentiferous  lead  ores. 
Large  amounts  of  silver  were  raised  in  Devon  as  far  back  as 
1293.  The  Combe  Martin  Mine  was  worked  at  various  times, 
and  according  to  De  la  Beche,  who  had  in  1837  an  opportu- 


364  EAST   WHEAL    EOSE    MINE. 

nity  of  examining  the  old  workings,  very  unskilfully.  The 
lodes  at  Beer  Alston  are  very  rich  in  silver,  containing  often 
from  80  oz.  to  120  oz.  of  silver  to  the  ton ;  140  oz.  per  ton  is 
said  to  be  the  yield  of  the  richest  ore. 

The  lead  raised  in  Cornwall  in  1852  averaged  35  oz.  of 
silver  to  the  ton,  that  of  Devon  40  oz.,  the  highest  of  any 
mining  district  in  England. 

East  Wheal  Pose  Mine.  As  an  illustration  of  what  lead  mining  is,  where 
the  lode  is  large  and  rich,  this,  which  is  probably  the  most  productive  lead 
mine  in  the  world,  may  be  described. 

This  mine,  which  is  situated  near  Newlyn  in  Cornwall,  was  originally  worked 
on  east  and  west  lodes,  and  was  exceedingly  poor,  so  that  in  1830  it  was  about 
to  be  abandoned  ;  but  on  making  up  the  accounts  for  the  purpose  of  closing 
the  concern,  it  being  found  that  there  was  a  balance  of  £200  in  hand,  it  was 
resolved  to  expend  it  in  driving  a  cross-cut,  at  a  venture,  and  in  a  few  fathoms 
distance  a  rich  vein  was  discovered  running  north  and  south. 

Above  the  130-fathom  level  the  mine  is  now  worked  out,  but  in  the  bottom 
of  this  level,  for  200  fathoms  in  length,  the  lode  is  said  to  be  still  very  rich, 
worth  £16  per  fathom,  although  it  will  be  some  time  before  it  can  be  taken 
down.  The  returns  in  1853  were  equal  in  value  to  about  £3000  per  month. 
The  yield  of  the  mine  in  metallic  lead  was  as  follows  : — 

Tons.  Tons. 

1845 5191  I  1848, 2856 

1846, 3114  !  1849, 3191 

1847, 3854  | 

At  this  mine  there  are  ten  steam-engines,  two  of  them  having  85-inch  cylin- 
ders, and  one  36-foot  water-wheel.  In  addition  to  this,  there  is  another  new 
70-inch  cylinder  engine  at  the  South  Cargoll  part  of  the  mine,  the  whole  being 
valued  at  £17,460. 

There  are  128  shares,  on  which  £50  per  share  has  been  paid  in,  and  they 
have  stood  as  high  as  £1500  each.  £2,245  per  share  has  been  divided,  the  last 
dividend,  of  £10,  having  been  paid  in  March  1852,  and  the  present  price  of 
the  shares  is  about  £140. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  silver-lead  ores  of  Cornwall 
and  Devon,  unlike  those  of  copper  and  tin,  occur  at  a  dis- 
tance from  granite  and  elvans,  the  conditions  under  which 
they  were  formed  being  quite  different  from  those  favorable 
to  the  development  of  the  last-named  metals.  In  general, 
here  as  almost  everywhere  else,  the  lead-bearing  lodes  are  in 
calcareous  rocks,  or  in  aear  proximity  to  them.  The  lodes  of 
Beer  Alston  cut  through  slates  which  are  in  part  calcareous ; 


LEAD  MINES  IN  WALES.  365 

those  of  Combe  Martin  occur  in  beds  which  alternate  with 
limestone. 

Cardiganshire  and  Montgomeryshire.  This  metalliferous 
district  is  about  40  miles  in  length,  by  from  5  to  22  miles  in 
width,  and  consists  of  beds  of  Lower  Silurian  age.*  The 
usual  strike  of  the  lodes  is  east-northeast  and  west-southwest, 
and  their  dip  is  most  frequently  to  the  south.  The  gangue 
consists  mostly  of  fragments  of  slate,  cemented  together  by 
quartz  and  a  little  calcareous  spar.  The  ore  is  mainly  galena, 
sometimes  containing  as  much  as  75  or  80  oz.  of  silver  to  the 
ton :  it  is  much  mixed  with  zinc  blende,  which  forms  the  prin- 
cipal mass  of  the  poorer  lodes.  The  brecciated  character  of 
these  lodes  is  the  most  interesting  feature  about  them.  The 
mines  have  been  worked  at  intervals  for  many  centuries,  and 
the  uncertainty  of  mining  enterprises  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  history  of  one  or  two  of  them,  which  are  now  in  suc- 
cessful operation. 

"  The  mine  of  Logaulas  had  long  been  worked  by  shallow  shafts  with  various 
success;  till  the  adventurer,  resolving  to  make  a  bold  push  at  a  greater  depth, 
commenced,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  to  drive  an  adit-level  from 
the  north,  which  after  a  course  of  nearly  half  a  mile  should  reach  the  lode 
at  a  depth  of  60  fathoms  from  the  surface.  The  rock  was  hard  and  the  pro- 
gress slow,  but  for  upwards  of  30  years  did  the  miners  persevere,  till  at  length, 
after  piercing  about  360  fathoms,  a  lode  was  cut  |  but  so  miserable  was  the 
aspect  it  presented,  that  after  driving  right  and  left  upon  it  for  a  few  feet,  the 
disappointed  speculator  gave  up  all  his  cherished  hopes  and  abandoned  the 
undertaking.  After  a  short  interval,  some  Cornish  adventurers  were  led  to 
believe  that  something  yet  remained  to  be  done,  and  having  set  a  party  of 
men  to  push  forward  the  same  level,  in  the  course  of  a  few  feet  cut  the  true 
lode,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  deposit  of  ore  which  yielded  rich  returns  for  several 
years.  This  company,  however,  in  their  turn,  fell  into  a  similar  error,  and 
losing  the  true  lode,  mistook  for  it  a  small  vein  on  the  south,  dispirited  with 
whose  poverty  they  surrendered  the  mine.  The  present  holders,  after  making 
an  accurate  survey,  were  satisfied  that  they  must  be  too  far  southward,  drove 
a  "  cross-cut"  towards  the  north,  and  very  shortly  discovered  not  only  the  lode, 
but  a  rich  bunch  of  ore,  parallel  to  which  their  predecessors  had  been  toiling 
for  many  a  fathom  through  barren  rock  at  the  distance  of  only  a  few  feet. 
The  mine  has  ever  since  been  yielding  thousands  of  pounds  profit  per  annum."f 

The  Goginan  Mine  presents  another  curious   example. 
After  being  abandoned  as  worthless,  by  an  adventurer  who 

*  Mem.  Geol.  Survey,  Great  Britain,  ii.  655.  f  Ibid.,  p.  671. 


366      PRODUCTION    OF    LEAD    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 


declared  that  he  "  would  carry  on  his  back  to  Aberystwyth" 
all  the  ore  that  could  be  got  out  of  it,  it  was  taken  up  by 
other  parties,  and  was  recently  producing  1500  tons  of  silver- 
lead  ore  per  annum. 

The  miners  of  this  part  of  "Wales  have  little  confidence  in 
the  lead  ore  continuing  in  depth  below  40  or  50  fathoms ; 
and  several  instances  are  adduced  of  lodes,  several  fathoms 
wide  at  the  surface,  dwindling  down  to  a  few  feet  at  the 
depth  of  forty  fathoms.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case  with 
the  lodes  before  noticed,  which,  at  the  depths  of  105  and  110 
fathoms,  are  as  large  as  anywhere  above.  As  many  as  158 
lodes  are  described  by  the  geologists  of  the  survey  as  exist- 
ing in  this  district,  although  they  are  not  all  productive. 

The  yield  of  the  United  Kingdom,  of  lead  and  silver,  has 
been  steadily  increasing  since  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  In  1810,  the  production  of  lead  in  the  country 
was  estimated,  by  Heron  de  Yillefosse,  at  12,500  tons,  a 
quantity  exceeding  that  furnished  by  all  the  rest  of  Europe. 
In  1835,  according  to  Mr.  Taylor's  estimates,  it  had  increased 
to  46,112  tons,  of  which  Northumberland,  Durham,  and 
Cumberland  furnished  19,626  tons.  In  1852,  the  yield  of 
lead  of  the  United  Kingdom  was,  according  to  the  most 
authentic  returns,  as  collected  by  Mr.  R.  Hunt,  64,960  tons. 

The  amount  of  metallic  lead  furnished  by  the  different 
lead-producing  districts,  at  different  times,  may  be  seen  from 
the  following  table  :* 


Cornwall  and  Devon, 
Cumberland,      Durham, 
and  Northumberland, 
Derbyshire,,  . 
Shropshire,     . 
Yorkshire, 
Wales,   . 
Scotland, 
Ireland, 
Isle  of  Man,  . 


1845. 
Tons. 


38,401 


1846. 
Tons. 


1847. 
Tons. 


1852. 
Tons. 


36,718 

18,615 
4,570 

43,812$ 

2,769 

5,223 

10,027$ 

12,294             13,708 

942 

822£             2,381$ 

811 

1,380                3,223 

1,663 

1,699                1,835$ 

50,161£          55,703 
Compiled  from  the  returns  of  R.  Hunt  and  J.  Y.  Watson. 


64,960 


BELGIAN  LEAD  MINES. 


36T 


Mr.  Hunt  estimates  the  produce  of  lead  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  for  the  five  years  from  1848  to  1852,  at  308,108 
tons,  which  gives  an  annual  average  of  61,621  tons. 

The  following  is  a  statement,  by  the  same  authority,  of  the 
yield  of  silver  from  the  silver-lead  mines  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  in  1852 : — 


Ounces  Silver  in 
a  Ton  of  Lead. 

35 

40 
9 


Cornwall,   .... 

Devon,        .... 

Cumberland, 

Durham,    Northumberland,    and 

Westmoreland,         ...         12 
Cardigan,  Caernarvon,  and  Caer- 

marthenshire,  .         .         .         15 

Flintshire  and  Derbyshire,  .         .  7 

Montgomery  and  Merionethshire,  6 

Ireland, 10 

Scotland,     .....  8 

Isle  of  Man,        ....         20 


Amount  in 

Ounces. 

250,008 

91,340 

52,893 

191,736 

91,680 
47,138 
5,562 
32,220 
19,048 
36,700 

818,325 
(68,194  Ibs.) 


Value. 

£62,502 
22,835 
13,223 

47,934 


£205,080 


BELGIUM. — The  sulphuret  of  lead  is  found,  in  considerable 
quantity,  associated  with  the  very  interesting  deposits  of  zinc, 
which  have  been  already  noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
The  ores  occur  in  funnel-shaped  cavities,  which  are  generally 
situated  above,  and  in  a  line  with,  some  great  fissure,  or  dislo- 
cation of  the  rocky  strata.*  Together  with  the  oxidized  ores, 
there  are  almost  always  found  the  sulphurets  of  zinc,  lead, 
cadmium,  and  iron,  sometimes  mixed  with  sulphur,  and  al- 
ways associated  with  black  clay.  The  sulphurets  occur  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  deposit,  or  in  the  fissure  beneath  it,  in 
which  position  they  apparently  form  regular  veins.  The 
oxidized  ores  are  evidently  a  secondary  product  of  the  de- 
composition of  the  sulphurets,  since  a  nucleus  of  the  latter  is 
frequently  found  within  nodules  and  masses  of  the  carbonates 
and  silicates.  Of  the  combinations  thus  formed  from  the 
sulphurets,  the  carbonate  appears  to  be  the  oldest,  and  lies 


*  Delanoue,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xviii.  455. 


368  LEAD    MINES    IN    PRUSSIA. 

the  deepest ;  above  it  are  the  silicates,  which  have  a  cellular 
or  stalactitic  form,  and  usually  contain  organic  matter,  and 
are  often  fossiliferous. 

The  actual  amount  of  lead  produced  in  Belgium  appears  to 
be  but  small.  The  Nouvelle  Montagne  Company  smelted 
in  1851,  168,  and  in  1852,  600  tons  of  this  metal. 

PRUSSIA. — The  production  of  lead  in  this  country  more 
than  tripled  itself  between  1847  and  1851,  the  last  year  for 
which  returns  have  been  received.  The  localities  are  numer- 
ous, but  are  chiefly  concentrated  in  Silesia  and  the  Rhine 
provinces.  In  the  former,  near  Tarnowitz,  the  mining  of 
galena  has  been  carried  on  since  1526.  The  red  deposits  of 
calamine  are  almost  all  plumbiferous  in  their  upper  portions, 
the  ores  being  argentiferous  galena  and  carbonate  of  lead. 
The  larger  portion  of  the  metal  at  present  produced  is  from 
a  mass  of  ore  lying  between  the  Muschelkalk  and  the  dolo- 
mite, south  of  Tarnowitz.  This  deposit  has  been  explored 
over  a  length  of  more  than  five,  and  a  width  of  over  one 
mile.  It  rarely  exceeds  12  feet  in  thickness,  and  the  galena 
occupies  only  2  or  3  inches  of  this.*  This  deposit  was  pro- 
ducing, in  1843  and  1844,  about  450  tons  of  lead  per  annum. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Siegen,  not  far  from  Coblentz,  there  are 
lead  mines  of  some  importance.  Near  Cologne  are  also  in- 
teresting deposits  of  lead  and  zinc  ores,  which  are  rapidly  in- 
creasing in  importance.  Mines  have  also  been  recently 
opened  at  Stolberg,  near  Aix-la-Chapelle.  An  English 
Company,  called  the  Wildberg  Great  Consolidated  Mining 
Company,  was  formed  in  1853,  to  work  some  mines  of  argen- 
tiferous galena  and  copper  ore  at  Wildberg,  10  miles  from 
Olpe,  in  Westphalia.  The  locality  was  examined  and  favora- 
bly reported  on  by  J.  A.  Phillips.  There  are  8  principal 
lodes,  running  east  and  west,  which  have  been  worked,  be- 
sides many  branches.  The  lead  obtained  yields  about  80 
ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton. 

The  whole  yield  of  lead  in  Prussia  amounted,  in  1851,  to 
7195  tons ;  that  of  silver,  all  of  which  was  obtained  from  lead 
or  copper  ores,  to  26,493  Ibs.  troy. 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xiii.  303. 


HARZ    MINING    DISTRICT.  369 

THE  HARZ.  —  This  mining  district  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  in  the  world,  not  so  much  from  the  great  amount 
of  its  metallic  produce,  as  on  account  of  the  high  degree  of 
skill  in  mining  engineering  and  metallurgy  which  the  works 
above  and  below  ground  exhibit,  and  the  great  extent  and 
complexity  of  the  systems  of  veins,  and  the  variety  of  the 
metalliferous  combinations  which  are  there  wrought.  The 
ores  are  not  rich,  and  it  is  only  the  most  skilfully-contrived 
machinery,  combined  with  systematic  and  economical  man- 
agement, which  allows  of  the  workings  being  carried  on. 

The  mines  of  the  Harz  belong  to  four  different  states. 
Those  of  the  Upper  Harz,  which  are  the  most  important, 
since  they  include  the  veins  in  the  vicinity  of  Clausthal  and 
Andreasberg,  belong  to  Hanover;  the  Rammelsberg  mines, 
near  Goslar,  are  four-sevenths  the  property  of  Hanover,  and 
three-sevenths  of  Brunswick.  Those  of  the  Eastern  Harz 
are  in  the  territory  of  Anhalt-Bernburg,  but  are  of  minor 
interest. 

The  Harz  Mountains  form  an  island  of  azoic  and  palaeo- 
zoic rocks,  which  may  be  said  to  rise  out  of  a  sea  of  the 
North  German  secondary  strata.*  The  longest  axis  stretches 
from  west-northwest  to  east-southeast,  a  distance  of  60  miles. 
Its  width  is  from  18  to  20.  The  celebrated  mountain  of  the 
Brocken  forms  its  culminating  point,  being  elevated  about 
3500  feet  above  the  sea.  This  and  the  neighboring  heights 
constitute  a  central  granitic  mass,  around  which  the  palaeo- 
zoic rocks  are  folded,  the  metamorphic  strata  having  but 
little  development. 

The  veins  of  the  Upper  Harz  are  concentrated  into  two 
groups,  that  of  Clausthal  and  that  of  Andreasberg. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Clausthal  and  Zellerfeld,  the  region  in 
which  the  veins  are  most  fully  developed  and  have  the 
greatest  extent  and  width,  there  are  six  principal  lines  of 
fracture  (German,  Ziige),  all  the  fractures  belonging  to  each 
one  of  which  are  of  the  same  age,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  result  of  a  force  of  tension  acting  along  a 

*  For  various  important  papers  on  the  Harz,  and  the  processes  adopted  there, 
see  De  Hennezel  in  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  iv.  330;  Rivot,  same  journal  (4),  xix. 
465  j  also,  Karsten  and  Dechen's  Archiv,  x.  3. 

24 


370  HA  HZ    MINING    DISTRICT. 

certain  line,  but  only  producing  a  visible  effect  in  certain 
parts  of  that  line.  These  lines  of  fracture  have  a  general 
east  and  west  direction,  and  are  nearly  parallel  with  each 
other.  The  mass  of  the  veinstone  is  made  up  of  a  breccia 
of  the  "country,"  held  together  by  calc.  spar,  brown  spar, 
spathic  iron,  quartz,  and  heavy  spar.  The  principal  ore  is 
argentiferous  galena,  with  some  copper  pyrites  and  blende. 
The  most  productive  portion  of  these  veins  is  where  they  are 
most  split  up,  and  it  is  a  very  curious  fact  that  where  the 
lode  is  undivided  and  compact,  it  is  almost  invariably  poor; 
where,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  separated  into  numerous 
branches,  so  as  to  form  a  stockwerk,  there  the  ore  is  most 
abundant.  For  instance,  the  Rosenhofer  Zug,  a  little  west 
of  Clausthal,  widens  out  into  a  stockwerk  300  feet  wide, 
which  is  nothing  more  than  a  collection  of  narrow  veins  and 
branches,  and  there  rich  returns  of  ore  are  obtained. 

The  Andreasberg  system  of  veins  is  much  more  limited 
than  that  of  Clausthal,  and  differs  from  it  in  character.  The 
space  which  it  occupies  is  not  much  over  a  mile  long,  and 
two-thirds  of  a  mile  broad.  Its  formation  is  exclusively 
argillaceous  and  silicious  slate.  The  ores  proper  of  silver, 
as  well  as  argentiferous  galena,  occur  here.  Among  them 
are  the  pyrargyrite  or  dark-red  silver  ore,  antimonial  sul- 
phuret  of  silver,  and  light-red  silver  ore. 

The  lead-bearing  veins  of  the  Upper  Harz  are  by  far  the 
most  important,  as  the  ores  of  this  metal  are  always  argen- 
tiferous. Their  principal  metalliferous  contents  are  galena, 
containing  from  13  to  123  ounces  of  silver  per  ton,  blende, 
a  little  copper  pyrites,  iron  pyrites,  and  gray  copper  ore ;  the 
gangues  are  principally  calc.  spar,  quartz,  heavy  spar,  and 
spathic  iron.  The  ores  are  mixed  together  in  such  a  way  as 
to  require  the  most  delicate  processes  of  washing  before  they 
can  be  economically  smelted ;  and  as  they  are  very  similar 
to  those  which  occur  in  the  silver-lead  veins  of  the  Atlantic 
States,  the  admirably-contrived  machinery  now  in  use  in  the 
Harz  should  be  studied  by  those  interested  in  the  mining  of 
argentiferous  ores  in  this  country. 

Besides  the  mines  of  the  Andreasberg  and  Clausthal  dis- 
tricts, noticed  above,  there  are  the  Rammelsberg  mines, 


HARZ    MINING    DISTRICT.  371 

which  are  situated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Goslar,  and  are 
next  in  importance.  The  nature  of  this  deposit  of  ore  has 
been  alluded  to  in  a  preceding  chapter.* 

The  other  metalliferous  deposits  of  the  Harz  are  :  1st. 
The  cupriferous  veins  of  Lauterberg ;  these  carry  almost  ex- 
clusively pyritous  ores  of  copper,  with  a  gangue  of  quartz 
and  fluor  spar.  2d.  Ores  of  antimony,  wrought  to  some  ex- 
tent in  the  veins  of  the  neighborhood  of  Wolfsberg,  near 
Stollberg.  These  veins  have  a  gangue  consisting  principally 
of  fluor-spar,  and  they  are  similar  in  their  position  to  those 
of  Andreasberg.  3d.  Manganese,  worked  at  Ilfeld.  4th. 
Cobalt,  at  Hasserode,  now  abandoned.  5th.  Iron,  exten- 
sively worked  between  Lerbach  and  Altenau,  forming  con- 
tact deposits  between  the  slates  and  igneous  hornblende 
rocks. 

In  the  Andreasberg  district,  the  great  Samson  vein  has 
been  worked  to  over  420  fathoms  in  depth,  being  the  deepest 
mine  now  wrought  in  the  world ;  the  workings  have  been 
extended  downwards  130  fathoms  in  the  last  30  years.  The 
rich  ores  in  this  vein  usually  occur  in  courses,  occupying  an 
extent  of  about  100  feet  in  each  direction.  At  the  depth  of 
360  fathoms,  one  of  the  finest  accumulations  of  ore  ever  met 
with  was  struck,  and  the  works  have  been  carried  down  to 
their  present  depth  without  any  considerable  change  in  the 
richness  of  the  mine. 

The  Harz  has  been  for  a  great  length  of  time  the  scene  of 
extended  mining  operations.  The  Rammelsberg  has  been 
uninterruptedly  worked  since  1449.  In  the  Clausthal  and 
Zellerfeld  district,  mines  were  opened  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  in  the  former  there  were  45  at  work  in  1591. 
Their  produce  has  been  remarkably  steady  for  many  years. 
In  1836,  the  "  Silberbergwerkshaushalt,"  which  includes  the 
principal  mines  of  the  Upper  Harz,  namely  those  of  the 
Clausthal,  Zellerfeld,  and  Andreasberg  districts,  produced  as 
follows:  Silver,  29,375  Ibs.  troy;  lead  and  litharge,  4080 
tons  ;  copper,  30  tons.  The  Rammelsberg  mines  produced, 
in  the  same  year :  Gold,  7  Ibs. ;  silver,  2509  Ibs. ;  lead  and 

*  See  page  47. 


372  LEAD    MINES   OF    NASSAU. 

litharge,  567  tons ;  zinc,  6  tons ;  copper,  227  tons.  The 
present  production  of  the  whole  Harz  may  be  estimated  as 
follows :  Gold,  5  Ibs. ;  silver,  30,000  to  35,000  Ibs. ;  lead, 
5000  to  6000  tons ;  copper,  150  tons ;  zinc,  an  amount  hardly 
worthy  of  notice  ;  iron,  5000  tons. 

SAXONY. — The  mines  of  Saxony  have  already  been  de- 
scribed with  sufficient  detail,  in  the  chapter  relating  to  silver.* 
The  production  of  lead  and  silver  from  argentiferous  galena 
is  of  minor  importance ;  still,  the  whole  kingdom  furnishes 
nearly  2000  tons  of  the  former  metal  annually. 

NASSAU. — In  proportion  to  its  size,  Nassau  is  one  of  the 
first  mining  states  in  Europe.  At  Holzappel,  silver-lead  ores 
have  been  mined  since  1158  ;  and  at  Ranzenbach,  copper  has 
been  obtained  since  1465.  The  whole  Duchy  is  only  82 
square  German  miles  in  extent,  but  there  are  several  hundred 
mines  in  operation  in  it,  the  larger  number  of  which  are 
worked  for  iron  and  manganese. 

The  mines  of  Holzappel,  Obernhof,  Marienfels,  "Welmich, 
and  "Werlau,  resemble  each  other  most  strongly.  Their  di- 
rection is  nearly  east-northeast  and  wrest-southwest,  and  they 
dip  at  an  angle  of  from  50°  to  80°. f  The  veinstone  is  gene- 
rally quartz ;  the  ores,  argentiferous  galena,  blende,  copper 
pyrites,  and  spathic  iron.  Near  the  surface,  the  above- 
mentioned  ores  have  been  converted  into  carbonate  and  sul- 
phate of  lead,  malachite,  azurite,  gossan,  &c.  The  lodes 
generally  consist  of  several  branches,  running  parallel  with 
each  other,  and  their  whole  width  is  about  3  or  4  feet. 

This  "Zug,"  or  group  of  veins,  stretches  from  Holzappel 
on  the  Lahn,  to  "VYelmich  and  "Werlau  on  the  Rhine,  and  is 
enclosed  in  argillaceous  slate  and  grauwacke,  of  the  Silurian 
system;  its  whole  length  is  between  30  and  40  miles,  al- 
though there  are  portions  of  the  ground  included  in  this 
range  which  have  not  yet  been  worked,  and  the  veins  are  not 
actually  known  to  be  continuous  for  the  whole  distance ;  yet 
they  are  so  much  alike  in  their  principal  features,  that  they 
must  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  same  system.  The  me- 
talliferous deposits,  wherever  opened,  are  characterized  by  a 

*  See  page  163.  f  Bauer,  Karsten  and  Dechen's  Archiv,  xv.  137. 


AUSTRIA.  373 

near  coincidence  in  strike  and  dip  with  the  strata  in  which 
they  are  enclosed ;  and  they  are  cut  through  by  cross  veins, 
running  east  and  west,  which  heave  them  from  their  regular 
course.  There  are  two  of  these  cross-courses  which  are  par- 
ticularly conspicuous,  and  they  are  known  as  the  eastern  and 
western  cross-courses.  They  divide  the  lodes  into  three  por- 
tions, each  one  of  which  exhibits  certain  peculiarities  of 
structure.  The  veins  have  regular,  smooth,  and  polished 
selvages.  Frequently  the  mass  of  the  lode  is  traversed  by 
fissures,  running  across  its  whole  width,  at  right  angles  to  it, 
whose  sides  are  lined  generally  with  fine  crystals ;  they  are 
in  some  cases  empty,  and  in  others  filled  with  flucan.  The 
productive,  or  ore-bearing  portions  of  the  lodes,  are  confined 
in  their  extent  within  certain  limits,  marked  by  planes  dip- 
ping east,  at  an  angle  of  14°  to  20°,  which  divide  the  veins 
into  a  number  of  alternate  rich  and  poor  sections ;  the  rock 
adjacent  to  the  unproductive  portion  being  usually  softer 
and  more  decomposed  than  where  the  lode  is  rich  in  ore. 

About  30  mines  are  working  on  these  veins,  producing 
together  600  tons  of  lead,  and  2500  Ibs.  of  silver,  besides  a 
small  quantity  of  copper. 

An  English  company  commenced  operations  on  a  large 
scale,  at  Obernhof,  in  1853.  They  have  their  principal  mines 
near  Obernhof  and  Vinden,  the  veins  producing  argenti- 
ferous galena,  blende,  and  copper.  The  yield  of  the  former 
is  said  to  be  70  to  80  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton. 

BADEN  AND  WURTEMBERG. — Silver  and  lead  mines  were 
formerly  extensively  worked  in  the  Schwarzwald  and  Oden- 
wald,  but  had  been  mostly  abandoned  until  quite  recently. 
Within  the  last  few  years,  several  of  the  old  mines  have  been 
taken  up,  with  what  success  I  have  not  learned.  An  Eng- 
lish company  commenced  operations  in  Baden  during  the 
past  year. 

AUSTRIAN  EMPIRE. — The  greater  part  of  the  production  of 
this  country  is  from  the  celebrated  mines  of  Bleiberg  and 
Kaibl,  in  Carinthia. 

The  village  of  Bleiberg  is  situated  near  Yillach,  in  the 
Carinthian  Alps.  The  mines  are  stretched  along  the  valley 
of  the  ISTotsch,  for  a  distance  of  five  miles,  from  Bleiberg  to 


374  LEAD    MINES    OF    AUSTRIA. 

Krcuth.  The  metalliferous  rock  is  a  light-gray  limestone, 
with  veins  and  geodes  of  calc.  spar.*  Its  geological  age  is 
probably  that  of  the  Muschelkalk,  although  this  question 
appears  not  to  be  sufficiently  determined.  The  ore  is  chiefly 
galena,  with  some  carbonate  of  lead,  calamine,  and  blende, 
and  it  occurs  in  deposits  which  do  not  seem  to  have  much 
resemblance  to  true  veins.  In  the  Ramser  Mine,  the  work- 
ings had,  in  1845,  been  carried  to  a  depth  of  over  1200  feet. 
The  ore  is  raised  from  the  mine  by  means  of  cars,  on  a  tram- 
road,  laid  down  in  an  inclined  shaft  of  large  dimensions, 
which  dips  with  the  lode,  at  an  angle  of  52°.  The  cars  are 
moved  by  water  power ;  the  descending  one,  being  filled  with 
water,  raises  by  its  weight  a  load  of  ore  in  the  ascending 
one.  The  whole  arrangement  is  simple  and  elegant,  but,  of 
course,  only  practicable  in  mines  peculiarly  situated  with 
reference  to  water  power. 

The  lead  mines  of  Przibram,  in  Bohemia,  are  next  in  im- 
portance to  those  of  Bleiberg.  The  veins  consist  principally 
of  diorite,  and  the  galena  is  accumulated  on  one  of  the  sel- 
vages, forming  a  kind  of  contact  deposit.  The  gangue  is  prin- 
cipally quartz,  with  some  heavy  spar  and  brown-spar.  The 
metalliferous  portion  of  the  lodes  contains  argentiferous 
galena,  antimonial  galena,  blende,  and  iron  pyrites,  with 
some  silver  ores  and  gray  copper.  The  greater  portion  of 
them  are  too  poor  to  pay  for  working,  until  the  depth  of  300 
feet  has  been  attained  ;f  from  this  point  downwards,  the 
richness  of  the  galena  in  silver  increases.  There  are  13_  veins, 
worked  in  two  different  mines.  They  are  contained  in  sand- 
stones and  conglomerates,  which  are  apparently  of  Lower 
Silurian  age. 

The  average  annual  production  of  the  different  provinces 
of  the  Empire,  during  the  ten  years  from  1838  to  1847,  was 
as  follows : — 

*  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  viii.  239. 

t  De  Hennezel,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  i.  27. 


Lead. 

Litharge. 

Illyria, 

.     3,253  tons. 

Bohemia, 

47 

851  tons. 

Hungary,     . 

246 

572 

Tyrol, 

125 

8 

Gallicia, 

12 

28 

Venice, 

16 

Military  Frontier, 

138 

85 

Styria, 

. 

17 

SPAIN.  375 

Sold  as  Ore. 
1,073  tons. 


3,S37  1,561  1,073 

The  whole  production  of  the  Empire  was,  in  1848,  equal 
to  6737  tons  of  metallic  lead. 

SPAIN. — This  is  the  country  where,  next  to  England,  the 
mining  of  argentiferous  galena  and  of  simple  lead  ore  is  of 
the  greatest  importance.  The  produce  of  these  metals,  how- 
ever, has  undergone  very  great  fluctuations  within  the  last 
few  years,  and  the  same  has  been  the  case  with  all  the  other 
mineral  productions  of  this  extraordinarily  rich  country, 
from  the  earliest  times.  It  is  only  quite  recently  that  we 
have  been  able  to  obtain  anything  like  a  connected  view  of 
the  geology  of  Spain,  Messrs.  De  Verneuil  and  Collomb 
having  made  a  geological  reconnaissance  of  that  country  in 
1852.*  For  our  knowledge  of  its  mines,  we  are  principally 
indebted  to  the  French  mining  engineers,  Le  Play,  Paillette, 
and  Pernolet. 

Strabo,  Diodorus  Siculus,  and  other  writers  assure  us  that 
Spain,  in  the  earliest  times,  was  a  country  pre-eminently 
rich  in  mines  and  metals.  Pliny  describes  the  mines  with 
minuteness,  and  that  they  were  of  immense  extent  is  evi- 
dent from  the  ancient  excavations  now  to  be  seen  in  the 
mining  districts,  especially  along  the  borders  of  Spain  and 
Portugal,  where  gold- washings  were  also  carried  on  exten- 
sively. The  same  evidences  of  former  mining-work  may  be 
seen  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  where  the 
Romans  worked  numerous  mines  of  copper,  lead,  silver,  and 
iron.  Under  the  Moorish  dominion,  the  art  of  mining  is 
said  to  have  been  in  a  flourishing  condition,  but  at  their 
expulsion  it  fell  into  complete  decay.  Mines  have  been 

*  Bull.  Soc.  Geol.  de  France  (2),  x.  61. 


376  HISTORY    OF    SPANISH    MINING. 

reopened  and  worked  within  the  last  few  years,  which  had 
been  abandoned  for  from  500  to  1500  years,  and  in  which 
the  old  Roman  and  Moorish  lamps  and  tools  were  found. 
Enormous  piles  of  slag,  of  Roman  origin,  are  seen  around 
the  city  of  Carthagena,  which  still  retains  its  ancient  name. 
The  discovery  of  America  and  its  rich  mineral  treasures, 
occurring  near  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors, 
caused  the  mines  of  Spain  to  be  entirely  neglected,  with  the 
exception  of  those  of  mercury,  at  Almaden,  which  were 
worked  in  order  to  furnish  the  necessary  supply  of  this 
important  agent  in  obtaining  the  silver  from  the  American 
ores.  Thus  it  happened,  singularly  enough,  that  Spain  was 
possessed  of  the  richest  silver  mines  and  the  most  extensive 
deposits  of  mercury  in  the  world  at  the  same  time.  The 
loss  of  the  American  colonies,  and  the  subsequent  pillage  of 
Spain  by  Napoleon's  troops,  reduced  that  country  to  a  state 
in  which  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  make  some  effort  to 
open  her  own  mines,  and  prosper  on  her  own  abundant 
resources.  For  this  purpose,  the  royal  decree  of  Ferdinand 
VII.  was  issued  in  1825,  which  laid  mining  open  to  all, 
whether  natives  or  foreigners,  under  certain  tolerably  liberal 
conditions.  This  law  was  supplanted  by  a  new  one  issued 
in  1849,  which,  however,  did  not  differ  very  materially  from 
the  old  one,  except  in  increasing  the  size  of  the."pertinen- 
cias,"  or  setts,  which  were  extended  from  the  previously 
small  dimensions  of  200  varas  by  100,  to  300  by  200.  Pre- 
vious to  1820,  the  only  mine  worked  in  Spain  was  that  of 
Almaden,  unless  we  except  a  few  unimportant  iron  mines  in 
the  Biscayan  provinces ;  and  now  this  country  stands  among 
the  first  in  point  of  metallic  production,  especially  in  silver, 
lead,  and  mercury. 

One  of  the  first  points  to  which  mining  enterprise  directed 
itself,  after  the  political  changes  of  1820  and  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  ordinance  of  1825,  was  the  lead  mines  of  the 
Sierra  de  Gador,  in  Andalusia,  in  the  mountain  district  of 
Alpujarras ;  in  1826,  more  than  3000  mines  had  been  opened 
in  the  Sierras  of  Gador  and  Lujar.  The  production  of  this 
district  was  almost  fabulous  in  quantity,  and  the  price  of  lead 
fell  throughout  Europe  with  great  rapidity,  ruining  many 


SPANISH    LEAD    MINES.  37T 

mines  in  England  and  Germany.  In  1823,  these  mines 
yielded  25,000  tons,  and  in  1827  the  production  had  reached 
the  enormous  amount  of  42,000  tons,  so  reducing  the  price 
of  lead  that  the  miners  were  obliged  to  enter  into  a  mutual 
agreement  to  work  the  mines  only  half  the  year. 

These  deposits  of  lead  ore  present  the  greatest  analogy 
with  those  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Like  them,  they  are 
in  the  Lower  Silurian  formation,  and  in  the  calcareous  beds, 
which,  however,  are  more  metamorphosed  than  at  the  "West. 
The  deposits  are  not  veins,  but  are  compared  by  Le  Play  to 
an  immense  amygdaloid,  in  which  the  paste  is  limestone 
and  the  amygdules  galena.  The  Loma  del  Sueno  was  said  to 
look  like  a  hillside  burrowed  in  by  gigantic  moles,  and 
more  than  4000  shafts  had  been  sunk  in  the  Sierra  de  Gador 
alone.  From  the  very  nature  of  these  deposits,  it  will  be 
evident  that  so  enormous  a  production  could  not  be  conti- 
nued for  many  years ;  and,  in  fact,  from  1827,  when  it  at- 
tained its  highest  point,  there  was  a  rapid  falling  off,  and 
these  deposits  are  now  comparatively  exhausted. 

The  silver  mines  of  the  Sierra  de  Almagrera  were  disco- 
vered in  1839,  and  the  excitement  which  the  discoveries 
there  made  produced  was  extraordinary.  In  1845,  8000 
miners  were  employed  in  that  district,  in  826  mines,  and 
there  were.  38  sm  el  ting-works  in  operation,  which  produced 
in  that  year  108,230  Ibs.  (troy)  of  silver,  and  8350  tons  of 
lead.  The  ore  which  furnished  this  great  quantity  of  lead 
and  silver  was  argentiferous  galena,  of  great  richness  in 
silver,  yielding  from  130  to  180  oz.  to  the  ton.  The  rock  is 
a  micaceous  slate,  belonging  to  the  metamorphic  Lower 
Silurian  formation,  and  containing  intercalated  beds  of  trap 
and  porphyry.  The  deposits  of  ore  do  not  seem  to  be  of  the 
nature  of  true  veins,  but  rather  bunches  lying  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  stratification,  and  not  holding  their  richness  in 
depth.  The  vein  called  the  "  Jaroso"  is  the  principal  one  of 
the  district,  and  had  seven  working  mines  on  it  in  1847. 
Near  the  surface,  the  silver  was  abundant  in  the  decomposed 
part  of  the  lode,  with  sulphate  of  lead  and  hydrated  oxide 
of  iron.  On  working  downwards,  the  silver  became  more 
rare,  the  sulphate  of  lead  was  replaced  by  galena,  and  the 


378   CHARACTER   OF   THE   SPANISH   LEAD   DEPOSITS. 

oxide  by  carbonate  of  iron.  The  returns  of  the  mine  show 
a  gradual  impoverishing  in  silver,  as  the  work  descended  in 
the  veins. 

More  recently,  attention  has  been  turned  to  the  carbonate 
of  lead,  which  occurs  in  abundance  from  Cartha^ena  to  Al- 

O 

mcria,  although  of  low  percentage,  and  refractory,  being 
mixed  with  blende  and  pyrites ;  but  as  the  ores  lie  near  the 
surface,  they  can  be  raised  very  cheaply,  and  the  recent  im- 
provements of  the  smelting  furnaces  in  Spain  render  it  pos- 
sible to  work  them  with  profit.  The  Pattinson  system  of 
separating  lead  from  silver  has  been  recently  introduced, 
and  found  to  assist  greatly  in  the  development  of  these 
mines.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  immense  piles  of 
ancient  Roman  slags  are  now  re-worked  with  very  conside- 
rable profit. 

The  following  remarks  on  the  nature  of  the  mines  of  An- 
dalusia, are  communicated  to  the  English  Mining  Journal* 
by  a  correspondent  signing  himself  "An  English  Miner," 
but  who  is  evidently  well  acquainted  with  that  district,  and 
capable  of  giving  an  opinion. 

"  In  a  mining  point  of  view,  I  have  repeatedly  had  occa- 
sion to  remark — 

1.  The   comparative  paucity  of  mineral  veins   or  lodes, 
and  that,  when  they  do  occur,  they  are  generally  short,  of  a 
bunchy  nature,  and  do  not  appear  to  make  ore  very  deep. 

2.  The  great    abundance   of   mineral   deposits   in   beds, 
masses,  nodules,  isolated  bunches,  and  other  irregular  forms, 
some  of  which  are  very  remarkable,  especially  those  of  lead 
and  iron. 

3.  The  fact  that  the  lead  found  in  slaty  rocks,  and  in  north 
and  south  veins,  is  very  argentiferous,  while  that  derived 
from  limestone  rocks  is,  without  exception,  poor  in  silver. 

4.  That  mineral  deposits  are  most  developed  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  eruptive  rocks,  and  there  richest  in  silver." 

As  a  consequence  of  these  facts  it  is  inferred  that  these 
deposits,  notwithstanding  the  general  richness  of  the  ores, 
require  extraordinary  caution  and  great  local  experience  in 

*  No.  900,  Nov.  20,  1852. 


LINARES    MINING    DISTRICT.  379 

their  working,  and  that,  as  compared  with  true  veins,  they 
are  little  to  he  depended  on. 

The  mining  region  of  Linares,  to  which  attention  has  lately 
heen  much  directed,  is  situated  a  few  miles  northwest  of 
Linares,  in  the  province  of  Jaen.  There  are  numerous  exca- 
vations, extending  over  a  surface  of  ten  square  miles,  which 
show  that  the  ancients  were  well  aware  of  the  existence  of 
these  lodes.  At  the  commencement  of  the  present  century 
they  hegan  to  be  worked  on  an  extensive  scale.  There  are 
several  lodes  known,  which  are  parallel  with  each  other, 
and  run  northwest  and  southeast. 

Three  or  more  English  companies  have  recently  com- 
menced work  in  this  region,  and  have  heen  quite  successful 
in  their  operations. 

The  principal  one,  which  is  called  the  "Linares  Lead 
Mining  Association,"  purchased  mining  property  at  Linares 
and  commenced  operations  there  in  1849.  The  lodes  are 
represented  as  being  large,  and  well  developed,  the  adjacent 
rock  being  a  decomposed  granite.  The  ore  seems  to  lie  in 
bunches,  which  are  occasionally  2  to  3  fathoms  wide ;  other 
portions  of  the  lode  are  from  1  to  4  feet  in  width,  carrying 
gossan,  calc.  spar,  quartz,  decomposed  feldspar,  and  galena, 
with  small  bunches  of  copper  ore. 

They  are  now  raising  about  300  tons  of  ore  per  month, 
the  lode  producing  in  the  75  fathom  level  in  some  places  4 
tons  per  fathom.  This  company  has  commenced  paying 
dividends,  having  cleared  about  .£16,000  in  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1853. 

The  New  Linares  Company  is  opening  three  mines  in  the 
same  vicinity,  with  favorable  prospects,  and  the  San  Fernando 
Company  has  also  valuable  silver-lead  mines,  on  whose  stock 
a  small  dividend  has  been  paid. 

Of  the  total  produce  of  lead  in  Spain  it  has  been  difficult 
to  procure  reliable  statistics.  It  has  been  seen  how  much  it 
has  fluctuated  within  the  last  thirty  years.  For  the  last  years 
whose  yield  has  been  ascertained,  1847  and  1849,  it  is  given 
at  about  30,000  tons.  Of  this  a  considerable  quantity  conies 
to  this  country,  and  a  large  part  of  the  remainder  goes  to 


380  LEAD    MINES    IN    FRANCE. 

supply  France  and  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

ITALY. — Sardinian  States.  The  mines  of  Pesey  and  Macot, 
in  the  Piedmontese  Alps,  have  been  worked  for  many  years, 
by  different  companies.  These  mines  and  that  of  Saint  Jean 
de  Maurienne  produced,  from  1745  to  1842,  about  25,000  tons 
of  lead,  and  150,000  Ibs.  of  silver.  Their  yield  is  given  by 
Burat,  in  1846,  as  about  250  tons  of  lead,  and  1600  Ibs.  of 
silver,  yearly. 

Sicily.  There  are  irregular  deposits  of  lead,  ore  in  Sicily, 
which  are  worked  to  some  extent,  but  I  have  no  information 
of  the  amount  of  metal  produced. 

FRANCE. — In  this  country  the  production  of  lead,  like  that 
of  all  the  other  metals  except  iron,  is  quite  insignificant. 
The  principal  silver-lead  mines,  indeed  the  only  ones  of  any 
importance,  are  at  Pontgibaud,  and  are  now  worked  by  an 
English  company. 

At  these  mines  workings  have  been  carried  on  for  a  great 
length  of  time.  The  official  documents  go  back  to  the  16th 
century.*  There  are  three  concessions  belonging  to  the 
present  company,  containing  three  mines,  which  have  been 
repeatedly  taken  up  and  abandoned  at  various  times.  Their 
geological  position  is  in  the  granitic,  gneissoidal,  and  schistose 
series  of  Central  France,  and  the  general  direction  of  the 
veins  is  north  15°  to  45°  east. 

They  have,  with  one  exception,  a  feldspathic  gangue,  little 
different  from  the  rock  itself.  Sulphate  of  baryta  also  occurs 
in  them  near  the  surface.  The  ore  is  highly  argentiferous, 
the  lead  generally  containing  from  0*3  to  0-5  per  cent,  of 
silver.  The  portions  of  the  veins  which  carry  ores  are  arranged 
in  a  series  of  vertical  columns  or  masses,  quite  limited  in 
length  on  the  course  of  the  veins,  but  holding  their  richness  in 
depth.  The  production  in  silver  of  the  Pontgibaud  mines 
had  steadily  increased,  from  2026  Ibs.  in  1842,  to  4168  Ibs.  in 
1849.  That  of  lead,  in  the  same  period,  rose  from  90  tons  to 
1260. 

The  mines  of  Poullaouen  and  Huelgoet  were  formerly 

*Rivot  and  Zeppenfeld,  Ann.  des  Mines  (4),  xviii.  137. 


LEAD    ORES    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  381 

quite  important,  but  their  richness  diminished  as  they  were 
worked  downwards,  the  veins  appearing  to  give  out  entirely. 
There  are  three  principal  veins  at  Poullaouen,  of  which  the 
most  important,  which  had  been  traced  for  nearly  a  mile,  has 
a  direction  of  north  22°  west.  The  ore  is  galena,  with  0-3  to 
0-5  per  cent,  of  silver,  in  strings  which  are  sometimes  8 
inches  in  width.  Work  was  commenced  here  in  1729,  and 
over  1000  men  were  employed  in  1760. 

At  Huelgoet,  the  vein  varies  at  the  surface  from  2  to  80 
feet  in  width ;  it  is  contained  in  the  older  crystalline  slates,  and 
has  been  traced  for  a  mile  in  length.  It  contains  galena 
with  0-1  per  cent,  of  silver.  At  the  surface  rich  silver  ores 
were  found,  analogous  to  the  colorados  of  the  Mexican  mines. 
This  vein  was  worked  before  1578. 

There  appear  to  be  no  mines  of  lead  of  any  importance 
except  in  Europe  and  the  United  States,  at  least  I  have 
been  able  to  procure  no  information  with  regard  to  any  such. 

In  Australia,  a  small  amount  of  galena  had  been  mined 
previously  to  the  gold-discoveries,  and  that  ore  is  said  to 
exist  in  numerous  localities.  There  are  undoubtedly  abun- 
dant supplies  of  this  metal  within  the  metalliferous  districts 
of  South  America ;  but  thus  far  they  have  been  but  little 
worked;  indeed,  where  such  rich  deposits  of  silver  lie  almost 
neglected,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  those  of  a  metal 
so  much  inferior  in  value  would  be  noticed.  Without  doubt 
any  considerable  increase  in  the  price  of  lead  would  lead  to 
the  opening  of  new  regions  producing  that  metal. 


SECTION  III. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE    ORES    OF   LEAD   IN    THE 
UNITED    STATES. 


now  turn  to  this  country,  whose  mines  of  lead  are 
abundantly  scattered  over  its  surface,  and  which  has  pro- 
duced a  larger  amount  in  value  of  this  metal  than  of  any 
other,  with  the  exception  of  iron  and  gold.  The  productive 
mines  are  chiefly  concentrated  within  a  district  of  compara- 


382  SYNOPSIS    OF    LEAD    DEPOSITS. 

lively  small  extent,  known  as  the  Upper  Mississippi  Lead 
Region ;  but  there  are  numerous  lead-bearing  veins  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  in  various  geological  positions,  some  of 
which  promise  at  a  future  day  to  become  of  importance. 

For  convenience  of  description,  the  lead-bearing  veins  and 
deposits  of  this  country  will  be  arranged  according  to  the 
following  scheme : — 

I.       MINES   OF   THE   ATLANTIC    STATES. 

a.  In  the  azoic  formation  ;  mines  of  St.  Lawrence  County, 
New  York ;  transverse  veins ;  ore,  galena,  free  from  zinc  and 
iron. 

b.  In  the  metamorphic  palaeozoic  rocks  ;  ore,  galena  prin- 
cipally, generally  more  or  less  argentiferous ;  almost  always 
associated  with  blende,   copper  pyrites,  and  iron  pyrites; 
veins  usually  parallel  with  the  formation ;  localities  numer- 
ous, especially  in  New  England. 

c.  In  the  unaltered  Lower  Silurian  rocks ;  the  only  locali- 
ties in  the  Atlantic  States,  so  far  as  known,  are  in  New  York ; 
mode  of  occurrence  apparently  irregular ;  not  extensive ;  re- 
cently worked,  but  not  largely. 

II.       MINES    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 

a.  Lead  Region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi ;  ore  galena,  not 
argentiferous ;  deposits,  irregular  and  gash  veins,  in  lime- 
stone of  Lower  Silurian  age  ;  worked  in  numerous  localities, 
occupying  a  space  principally  in  Wisconsin,  but  extending 
into  the  adjacent  States  of  Iowa  and  Illinois. 

b.  Lead  Region  of  Missouri ;  localities  numerous,  and  ores 
similar  in  character  and  position  to  group  a  ;  formerly  more 
extensively  worked  than  at  present ;  not  now  of  much  im- 
portance. 

MINES    OF    ST.  LAWRENCE    COUNTY,  NEW   YORK. 

There  are  numerous  well-developed  lead  veins  in  the  azoic 
of  Northern  New  York,  which  have  been  worked  to  some 
extent,  and  which  promise  hereafter  to  become  of  considerable 
value.  The  most  important  of  these,  so  far  as  can  be  judged 
from  their  present  development,  are  those  of  Rossie,  in  St. 


ST.  LAWRENCE  COUNTY  MINES.         383 

Lawrence  County.  The  veins  of  this  vicinity,  which  have 
attained  a  wide  celebrity  among  mineralogists  for  the  splen- 
did crystallizations  of  galena  and  calc.  spar  which  they  have 
furnished,  have  been  worked,  at  intervals,  since  1835 ;  but 
thus  far,  not  with  that  degree  of  success  which  ought  to  have 
attended  the  opening  of  so  rich  veins. 

The  rocks  in  this  region  are  mostly  gneiss,  interlaminated 
with  hornblende  and  mica  slates,  of  which  the  stratification 
is  not  always  clearly  to  be  made  out.  They  belong  to  the 
azoic  period,  and  are  overlaid  on  the  north  and  west  at  a 
short  distance  by  the  strata  of  the  Potsdam  Sandstone. 

The  attention  of  the  public  was  first  turned  in  this  direc- 
tion in  the  winter  of  1835-6,  when  the  remarkable  vein 
generally  known  as  the  "Coal  Hill  Vein,"  was  first  opened. 
This  vein  is  one  of  a  group  of  four  or  more,  exhibiting  the 
same  characters,  and  similar  in  position,  while  differing  in 
their  width  and  the  quantity  of  ore  which  they  carry ;  and  it 
has  been  more  extensively  worked  than  any  other  of  them. 
Dr.  L.  C.  Beck,  of  the  State  Geological  Survey,  gives  the 
following  description  of  it,  as  it  appeared  soon  after  it  was 
opened,  in  August  1836.*  "  The  vein  of  galena  and  white 
decomposed  ore  was  distinctly  visible  for  some  distance, 
passing  down  a  precipitous  ledge  of  primitive  rock,  about 
fifty  feet  in  height.  The  average  width  of  the  vein  was  two 
feet,  and  it  cut  the  rock  in  a  nearly  perpendicular  direction ; 
at  the  lower  part,  however,  inclining  slightly  to  the  north. 
On  ascending  the  ledge,  the  course  and  extent  of  the  vein 
could  be  easily  determined  by  the  excavations  which  had 
been  made,  and  by  the  appearance  of  the  surface  in  those 
parts  which  had  not  been  opened.  Its  course  was  found  to 
be  about  south-southeast  and  north-northwest ;  and  its  length, 
as  exposed  at  that  time,  was  about  450  feet ;  and  throughout 
this  whole  extent,  the  vein  seemed  to  be  so  distinctly  charac- 
terized as  to  excite  surprise  that  it  had  not  long  before  been 
noticed."  Farther  on,  he  remarks  that  the  average  width 
of  the  calcareous  gangue  is  about  four  feet,  and  that  the  pro- 
portion of  the  ore  in  the  vein  was  quite  variable. 

*  Mineralogy  of  New  York,  p.  48. 


384  COAL    HILL    MINE. 

Prof.  Emmons,  State  Geologist  of  the  district  in  which 
these  mines  are  situated,  remarks,*  that  the  vein  is  three  or 
four  feet  wide,  and  filled  with  calcareous  spar  and  galena ; 
the  latter  having  a  width  of  only  from  two  or  three  inches  to 
eighteen ;  the  average  width  of  the  solid  ore  he  estimated 
at  ten  inches. 

Coal  Hill  Mine.  This  mine  was  worked  in  1837  and  1838  with  great  ac- 
tivity, but  with  an  entire  ignorance  of  the  first  principles  of  mining.  The 
length  of  the  vein  which  was  opened  was  about  400  feet,  arid  this  was  divided 
into  two  sections,  and  worked  by  two  distinct  companies,  one  of  which  was 
called  the  Rossie  Lead  Mining  Company,  and  the  other  the  Rossie  Galena 
Company.  The  two  sections  were  divided  by  a  bar  of  ground  left  standing 
between  the  Engine  and  Rodda's  Shafts  (see  Section,  Fig.  37),  which  has  since 
been  taken  down.  Thus,  of  course,  a  double  expense  was  required  for  freeing 
the  mine  from  water ;  and  in  every  other  respect  the  workings  were  as  ill- 
arranged  as  possible,  the  whole  excavation  being  little  more  than  an  open 
cut,  without  even  an  adit-level  for  carrying  off  the  surface-water.  The  ore  was 
smelted  on  contract,  at  $25  per  ton  of  lead  produced.  According  to  C.  L. 
Lum,  Esq.,  who  had  charge  of  the  books  of  Messrs.  Moss  and  Knapp,  the 
smelters,  the  amount  received  for  lead  sold  from  this  vein,  up  to  the  time  it 
was  abandoned  in  1839,  was  about  $241,000;  3,250,691  Ibs.  of  lead  were 
smelted,  according  to  the  record  in  the  company's  books,  together  with  another 
lot  of  151  tons,  and  other  smaller  amounts  of  which  no  record  was  kept. 

As  would  naturally  have  been  expected,  where  so  entire  an  ignorance  of  the 
method  of  opening  a  mine  prevailed  as  here,  the  Coal  Hill  Vein  was  aban- 
doned, after  the  richest  portion  of  it  had  been  worked  out  down  to  a  depth 
where  the  water  began  to  be  unmanageable  without  well-contrived  machinery. 
At  this  time  the  great  commercial  depression  throughout  the  country  drew  all 
attention  away  from  mining,  and  the  whole  of  the  St.  Lawrence  County  region, 
in  regard  to  which  there  had  been  so  much  excitement,  was  deserted. 

After  lying  dormant  for  some  years,  the  Coal  Hill  Mine  was  taken  up  again 
by  a  company  formed  in  New  York,  called  the  Great  Northern  Lead  Company, 
and  operations  commenced  in  the  winter  of  1852. 

The  annexed  section  (Fig.  37)  will  show  the  present  state  of  the  excavations 
on  this  vein,  and  from  it  an  idea  may  be  obtained  of  the  amount  of  work  which 
had  been  done  at  the  time  the  Great  Northern  Company  commenced  their  ope- 
rations. There  was  an  excavation  about  440  feet  in  length,  and  180  feet 
deep  for  a  part  of  that  distance ;  there  was  no  adit-level,  a  block  of  ground 
having  been  left  standing  in  its  course ;  from  the  surface  down  to  the  present 
adit,  a  depth  of  67  feet,  the  mine  was  an  open  cut,  and  had  become  choked  up 
with  every  kind  of  rubbish  and  filth,  which  it  was  a  tedious  and  expensive 
job  to  clear  out.  This  was  done,  however,  and  a  steam-engine  of  60  horse 


*  Geological  Report,  p.  355. 


COAL    HILL    MINE.  385 

power  was  erected.  But  little  was  done  during  the  winter  of  1853  in  the  way 
of  raining;  and  as  the  erection  of  the  necessary  machinery,  furnaces,  and 
buildings,  together  with  the  clearing  out  of  the  old  mine  and  making  good  the 
levels,  had  consumed  the  funds  of  the  company  before  the  mine  was  opened 
so  that  returns  of  lead  could  be  made,  and  as  the  stockholders  had  not  suffi- 
cient confidence  in  the  mine  to  contribute  the  necessary  amount  for  continuing 
operations,  the  work  was  stopped,  almost  before  it  was  commenced. 

Fig.  37. 


Section  of  workings  on  the  Coal  Hill  Vein. 

At  this  time  two  shafts  had  been  sunk  40  and  45  feet  below  the  old  workings, 
as  shown  on  the  section,  and  a  winze  had  been  carried  down  18  feet  in  the 
western  part  of  the  mine.  In  the  bottom  of  all  these  excavations,  the  lode 
appeared  large,  regular,  and  well-defined.  In  the  Crystal  Shaft,  the  solid 
galena  occupied  a  width  of  from  6  to  18  inches  for  the  last  4  or  5  fathoms 
which  were  sunk.  In  the  winze,  the  lode  appeared  to  be  equally  rich,  carrying 
large  masses  of  pure  lead  ore. 

The  vein  at  this  depth,  about  200  feet,  is  apparently  of  the  same  width  as 
at  the  surface,  varying  from  2  to  4  feet.  The  gangue  is  almost  pure  calc.  spar, 
frequently  forming  vugs  in  which  splendid  crystals  occur.  Some  of  the  finest 
crystallizations  of  this  mineral  ever  found  have  been  obtained  from  this  mine. 
One  gigantic  crystal,  nearly  transparent,  in  the  cabinet  of  Yale  College, 
weighs  165  pounds.  In  the  same  cavities  the  galena  itself  is  often  finely 
crystallized.  Groups  of  crystals  weighing  over  a  hundred  pounds  are  said  to 
have  been  obtained  near  the  surface.  The  ore  is  remarkably  free  from  any 
association  with  iron,  copper  pyrites,  or  blende,  differing  in  this  respect  from 
all  the  lead-bearing  veins  in  the  metamorphic  palaeozoic  rocks  of  New  England 
and  the  Atlantic  States.  It  contains  a  trace  of  silver,  but  not  enough  to  be 
worth  separating. 

About  2000  fathoms  of  the  vein  have  been  removed,  and  if  we  adopt  Mr. 
Lufn's  statement  of  the  value  of  the  lead  taken  from  this  vein,  at  a  time  when 
its  price  was  considerably  lower  than  at  present,  adding  $5000  for  the  ore  sold 
and  taken  out  by  the  Great  Northern  Company,  it  appears  that  the  average 
value  of  the  lode  per  fathom  is  ovqr  $120. 

25 


386  UNION    MINE. 

It  is  understood  that  this  mine  has  been  quite  recently  taken  up  by  a  com- 
pany called  the  Ontario  Mining  Company,  and,  under  judicious  management, 
there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  made  profitable. 

In  the  same  sett,  there  is  a  parallel  vein  to  the  Coal  Hill,  called  the  Indian 
River  Vein.  It  is  not  opened  to  any  extent,  but  it  appears  on  the  surface  to 
have  the  same  character  as  the  one  just  described. 

Victoria  Lead  Company.  The  sett  of  this  company,  containing  640  acres, 
includes  a  portion  of  the  Union  Vein,  formerly  within  the  lease  of  the  Great 
Northern  Lead  Company,  and  a  large  tract  in  addition,  embracing  a  part  of 
the  western  extension  of  the  Coal  Hill  and  Indian  River  Veins. 

The  principal  workings  are  on  the  Union  Vein,  which  is  parallel  with  the 
Coal  Hill,  and  distant  about  one-third  of  a  mile  from  it.  This  vein  was  wrought 
to  some  extent  at  the  same  time  with  the  Coal  Hill ;  and,  if  possible,  with  still 
greater  want  of  skill.  The  work  was  done  by  tributers,  and  the  openings  were 
of  the  most  irregular  description.  The  annexed  section  (Fig.  38),  will  show 


Section  of  workings  on  the  Union  Vein. 

the  present  state  of  the  work,  the  shafts  and  level  having  been  excavated  since 
work  was  resumed  on  the  mine.  According  to  Mr.  D.  W.Baldwin,  the  amount 
of  metallic  lead  smelted  from  the  ore  of  this  mine  in  1836  and  1837,  was  213* 
tons.  The  same  vein  was  worked  about  half  a  mile  farther  east,  a,nd  was 
there  known  as  the  Victoria  Mine  ;  and  the  two  mines  together  produced  524 
tons  of  lead  before  they  were  abandoned. 

While  the  Union  Mine  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Great  Northern  Company, 
but  little  was  done  towards  opening  it,  as  the  shafts  could  not  be  sunk  below 
the  first  level,  for  want  of  a  steam-engine  for  drainage.  The  level,  96  feet  from 
the  surface,  was  extended  a  short  distance  west  of  the  principal  shaft;  and  some 
explorations  were  made  on  the  line  of  the  vein. 

The  Union  Lode  is  very  regular,  and  has  lead  disseminated  through  it  in  con- 
siderable abundance.  In  general,  it  is  from  3  to  4  feet  wide  j  and  its  gangue 
is  like  that  of  the  Coal  Hill  Mine,  except  that  it  is  less  crystalline.  The  walls 
are  well-defined,  and  generally  pretty  smooth ;  but  there  are  no  slickensides, 
or  flucan  selvages,  and  the  spar  does  not  separate  readily  from  them.  The 
whiter,  more  transparent,  and  more  coarsely-crystalline  the  gangue,  the  more 
abundant  is  the  ore  j  and  where  it  is  most  plentifully  distributed,  the  lode  is 
vuggy,  and  the  cavities  are  lined  with  crystals  of  calc.  spar  and  galena.  In 
this  vein,  as  in  the  Coal  Hill,  there  is  hardly  a  trace  of  any  other  ore  than  galena. 


LEAD    MINES    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    STATES.        387 

The  present  company  commenced  working  the  mine  quite  recently,  and  have 
erected  a  steam-engine,  and  propose  sinking  immediately  to  a  depth  of  10 
fathoms  below  the  present  level.  A  considerable  part  of  the  lode  is  worth  fully 
$100  per  fathom,  and  it  seems  highly  probable  that  it  may  be  worked  with 
profit,  if  opened  properly. 

There  are  two  lodes  here,  which  seem  to  come  together  near  the  Junction 
Shaft;  one  of  these  is  probably  the  same  vein  which  was  worked  in  the  Old 
Victoria  Mine,  but  they  have  not  been  traced  into  each  other,  owing  to  the 
low  ground  to  the  east  of  the  Coal  Hill  and  Union  Mines. 

St.  Lawrence  Mining  Company.  This  company  has  until  recently  been 
working  what  was  formerly  called  the  Macomb  Mine,  about  nine  miles  from 
the  Coal  Hill  Mine,  which  it  is  said  very  much  to  resemble.  The  vein  is 
thought  to  be  a  valuable  one,  but  capital  and  confidence  appear  to  have  been 
wanting,  and  the  works  have  been  stopped,  temporarily  only,  it  is  hoped.  A 
steam-engine,  furnace,  and  other  machinery  have  been  erected  here,  and  pro- 
bably about  $50,000  expended  in  preparations  for  mining.  The  company 
owns  1420  acres  of  land  in  fee,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  not  allow 
so  important  a  property  to  lie  dormant. 

At  Mineral  Point,  on  Black  Lake,  six  miles  below  the 
village  of  Rossie,  lead-bearing  veins  similar  to  those  described 
are  mentioned  as  occurring,  and  as  promising  favorably  for 
mining.  Indeed,  numerous  lodes  have  been  discovered  in 
various  parts  of  the  adjacent  country,  but  nothing  is  known 
with  regard  to  their  value. 

LEAD-BEARING   VEINS    OP   THE    METAMORPHIC    PALAEOZOIC. 

In  this  group  are  included  a  great  number  of  plumbiferous 
veins,  occurring  in  the  belt  of  metamorphic  rocks  which 
extends  through  the  Atlantic  States,  along  the  southeastern 
flank  of  the  Appalachian  chain.  They  are  especially  nume- 
rous in  the  New  England  States,  where  they  have  been 
repeatedly  the  object  of  mining  enterprises,  and  unfortu- 
nately have  thus  far  rarely  been  profitably  worked  or  tho- 
roughly developed.  They  appear,  in  almost  all  cases,  to 
belong  to  the  segregated  class  of  veins,  although  often  deve- 
loped on  a  large  scale,  forming  powerful  and  well-marked 
lodes.  The  reasons  why  they  have  failed  to  make  profitable 
mines  seem  to  be,  first,  because  the  valuable  ores  which  they 
contain  are  too  much  mixed  with  other  metalliferous  sub- 
stances of  no  value,  from  which  they  must  be  separated  by 
expensive  machinery,  requiring  skill  in  its  construction  and 


388  LEAD    MINES    IN    MAINE  —  VERMONT. 

management;  second,  because  the  ores  are  not  sufficiently 
concentrated  in  the  veins,  the  rich  bunches  being  too  much 
scattered  through  a  mass  of  barren  veinstone ;  and  lastly, 
though  in  a  less  degree,  because  capital  and  patience  have 
been  wanting  for  the  development  of  the  mines. 

I  propose  to  commence  with  the  New  England  States,  and  to 
notice  most  of  the  prominent  mines  of  lead  and  argentiferous 
galena  which  have  been  wrought  at  different  times,  in  the 
hope  of  throwing  some  light  on  the  prospects  of  this  branch 
of  mining  in  the  United  States ;  trusting  that  what  may  be 
said  may  have  some  influence  in  directing  the  application  of 
capital,  or  at  least,  in  some  instances,  of  checking  unnecessary 
and  foolish  expenditures  upon  mines  which  give  no  promise 
of  profitable  working. 

MAINE. — The  Lubec  lead  mines  are  the  only  ones  men- 
tioned by  the  State  Geologist  as  worthy  of  being  worked. 
These  are  situated  on  the  estate  of  John  Ramsdell,  four  miles 
west  of  Lubec.  The  rock  in  which  they  occur  is  an  argilla- 
ceous limestone,  and  the  veins  are  found  at  the  points  where 
it  is  traversed  by  dykes  of  trap.  The  veins  were  wrought 
for  a  few  months  after  their  discovery,  in  1832.  There  are 
several  of  them,  all  exhibiting  the  same  character.  They  are 
apparently  contact  deposits  between  the  trap  and  the  lime- 
stone. The  principal  one  is  said  to  be  2J  feet  wide,  with  a 
gangue  of  quartz  and  compact  feldspar.  It  appears  on  the 
face  of  an  abrupt  precipice  of  limestone  100  feet  in  height, 
into  which  a  drift  has  been  carried  for  155  feet.  There  ap- 
pears to  have  been  no  sufficient  encouragement  to  carry  on 
the  works,  which  were  stopped  many  years  since,  and  have 
not  been  resumed. 

A  small  vein  of  lead  and  zinc  ore  has  been  discovered  at 
Parsonsfield,  but  it  has  not  been  considered  worthy  of  being 
worked. 

VERMONT. — The  only  localities  in  this  state  where  galena 
has  been  found,  so  far  as  I  know,  are  at  Chittenden,  Thet- 
ford,  and  Morristown.  At  none  of  these  places  are  the  indi- 
cations sufficiently  promising  to  warrant  working. 

'NEW  HAMPSHIRE.— The  localities  where  lead  ores  have 
been  found  in  this  state  are  numerous,  and  the  veins  wide 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  389 

and  well  defined ;  but  the  valuable  metalliferous  substances 
are  too  sparsely  scattered  through  the  veins,  and  too  much 
mixed  with  blende  and  iron  pyrites,  to  be,  at  present  at  least, 
worthy  of  being  worked. 

Among  the  more  interesting  mines  which  have  been 
opened  and  worked  to  some  extent,  the  following  may  be 
mentioned. 

Eaton  Lead  Mine.  A  powerful  vein  occurs  here,  which  was  discovered 
about  1826,  and  several  times  wrought  for  a  little  while  and  then  abandoned. 
Previous  to  1840,  a  shaft  had  been  sunk  on  it  to  the  depth  of  40  feet,  and  15 
barrels  of  picked  lead  ore  sent  to  Baltimore  to  be  smelted.  The  vein  is  stated 
to  be  six  feet  in  width,*  and  to  consist  mostly  of  yellow  blende,  including 
masses  of  galena.  Its  course  is  north  21°  east,  and  it  dips  west  60°  to  65°. 
It  is  favorably  situated  for  drainage.  The  lead  ore  contains,  according  to  Dr. 
Jackson's  assay,  2  Ibs.  of  silver  per  2000  Ibs.  Dr.  Jackson  remarks  :  "  It  is 
hoped  that  persons  interested  in  mines  will  attend  to  this  valuable  vein,  for  it 
is  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  in  New  England  ;"  although,  as  he  states,  the 
lead  ore  is  the  smallest  part  of  the  vein,  and  does  not  average  more  than  eight 
inches  in  width. 

On  the  strength  of  these  recommendations,  parties  were  induced  to  resume 
the  working  of  this  mine  a  few  years  since,  but  after  a  large  amount  of  money 
had  been  expended,  with  no  returns,  it  was  abandoned,  simply  because  there 
was  no  ore  in  the  vein,  as  I  am  informed  by  those  engaged  in  working  it. 

Shelburne  Lead  Mine.  A  considerable  amount  of  mining  has  been  done  at 
Shelburne,  on  a  powerful  vein.  The  vein  is  thus  described  by  J.  T.  Hodge, 
Esq.f  "The  position  of  the  vein  is  nearly  vertical,  its  inclination  being  71°  to 
the  north.  At  the  surface  it  appears  to  consist  almost  wholly  of  quartz,  but 
by  close  inspection  a  small  seam  of  metallic  ore  is  discovered  near  the  north- 
ern or  upper  side  of  the  vein.  In  some  places  this  is  an  inch  or  two  wide,  and 
then  narrows  away  to  a  small  fraction  of  an  inch ;  never,  however,  being  com- 
pletely lost.  The  ores  at  the  surface  were  found  to  be  the  sulphurets  of  lead, 
zinc,  copper,  and  iron ;  and  the  first  named,  the  prevailing  ore,  proved  to  be 
highly  argentiferous,  containing,  according  to  Dr.  Jackson's  analysis,  three 
pounds  of  silver  to  the  ton  of  ore."  Mr.  Hodge  advised  that  in  consideration 
of  the  richness  of  the  lead  in  silver,  and  the  appearance  of  the  vein,  openings 
should  be  made  here  to  some  depth,  in  the  hope  that  the  metalliferous  portion 
would  increase  in  width,  or  that  valuable  bunches  of  ore  would  be  found. 

The  mine  was  worked  from  1846  to  1849,  and  considerable  money  expended, 
with  the  following  results,  as  I  am  informed  by  C.  L.  Lum,  Esq.,  who  was  con- 
nected with  the  work.  There  are  three  shafts,  one  of  which  is  275  feet  deep. 
In  this  shaft,  a  rich  bunch  of  ore  was  struck,  at  the  depth  of  30  feet,  and  a 
drift  was  run  off  to  the  northwest  about  40  feet  on  it ;  here  the  vein  was  2  feet 

*  Final  Report  on  Geology  of  New  Hampshire,  p.  83. 
f  Mining  Magazine,  i.  29. 


390  LEAD    MINES    IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 

wide,  and  from  about  30  fathoms  of  the  vein  removed  by  underhand  sloping 
at  this  point,  20  tons  of  good  ore  were  obtained.  A  short  distance  farther 
down,  another  bunch  of  ore  was  struck,  of  less  importance,  but  from  that 
point,  nearly  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  the  lode  was  very  poor,  although  from 
six  to  ten  feet  wide.  In  the  best  part  of  the  vein,  it  contained  six  inches  of 
solid  galena.  A  shipment  of  the  ore  to  England,  of  a  little  over  5  tons,  netted 
there  about  £16  per  ton.  The  richest  portion  gave  84  oz.  of  silver  to  the  ton 
of  lead.  Another  shaft,  only  90  feet  to  the  southeast  of  the  main  shaft,  was 
sunk  to  the  depth  of  80  feet,  and  the  vein  found  to  be  tolerably  well  filled  with 
ore.  The  works  were  abandoned  in  1849,  and  have  not  since  been  resumed. 

It  appears  possible,  from  an  examination  of  the  works  and  the  nature  of  the 
ground,  that  the  vein  may  not  have  been  explored  sufficiently  in  longitudinal 
extent.  A  single  shaft  might  be  sunk  where  it  would,  perhaps,  pass  through  a 
poor  part  of  the  lode  for  the  whole  distance,  while,  at  the  same  time,  there 
might  be  rich  bunches  of  ore  within  a  short  distance  on  each  side  of  it.  The 
region  appears  to  be  a  metalliferous  one,  and  should  be  farther  explored. 

Galena  has  been  found  in  many  other  localities  in  New 
Hampshire,  hut  in  none  of  them  in  veins  of  sufficient  mag- 
nitude to  require  notice. 

MASSACHUSETTS.  —  Among  the  localities  where  lead  ores 
have  he  en  found  in  this  state,  the  only  ones  of  any  import- 
ance are  those  of  Northampton,  and  of  the  vicinity,  within  the 
boundaries  of  Southampton  and  Easthampton.  The  veins 
are  large,  and  very  conspicuous  on  the  surface,  and  were 
among  the  first  known  and  worked  in  the  country,  and  have 
a  degree  of  historic  importance,  although  of  no  value  econo- 
mically. 

The  principal  and  oldest  mine  is  in  Southampton,  and  has  been  well  known 
to  mineralogists  for  the  last  half  century.  A  company  was  formed  and  work- 
ings commenced  here  in  1765,  by  a  party  of  Connecticut  adventurers,  and  the 
old  records  speak  of  stones  of  ore  taken  out  of  the  back  of  the  vein,  which 
weighed  200  Ibs.  Operations  were  suspended  by  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
it  was  not  until  1809  that  they  were  resumed.  The  old  shaft  was  cleared  out, 
and  had  been  sunk  to  a  depth  of  60  feet  at  the  time  it  was  visited  by  Prof. 
Silliman,  in  1810.  Soon  after,  an  adit-level  was  commenced,  intended  to  in- 
tersect the  lode  at  a  depth  of  about  140  feet,  by  driving  from  1100  to  1200 
feet.  This  work  was  carried  on  by  a  single  miner  until  1828,  when  it  was 
abandoned,  in  consequence  of  his  death  ;  at  that  time  the  adit  had  been  driven 
about  900  feet,  two-thirds  of  the  distance  being  in  a  light-colored,  coarse- 
grained sandstone,  belonging  to  the  New  Red,  and  the  remainder  in  a  granitic 
rock,  very  difficult  to  break.  Thus  the  works  remained  for  many  years,  the 
adit  about  two-thirds  completed,  and  an  open  cut  excavated  on  the  vein  46  feet 
deep,  40  feet  long,  and  from  6  to  8  feet  wide. 


SOUTHAMPTON    LEAD    MINE.  391 

This  open-cut  shows  a  vein  occupying  its  whole  width,  of  which  the  gangue 
is  mainly  crystallized  quartz,  with  some  heavy  spar,  and  with  galena  scattered 
through  it  in  small  quantity,  but  not  sufficient  to  form  a  workable  lode.  From 
near  the  surface,  a  variety  of  the  usual  ores  resulting  from  the  decomposition 
of  the  sulphuret  were  taken,  and  are  to  be  found  in  the  principal  mineralo- 
gical  cabinets  of  the  country. 

After  lying  dormant  for  more  than  twenty  years,  this  vein  was  taken  up  and 
worked  for  a  short  time  on  a  small  scale. 

In  the  spring  of  1853,  I  found  the  adit-level  driven  in  970  feet;  the  rock 
at  the  end  was  a  coarse-grained  feldspathic  granite,  costing  probably  $150  a 
fathom  to  break,  as  the  miners  had  refused  to  take  it  on  contract  at  $132,  and 
they  were  proceeding  at  about  three  feet  a  week.  In  March  last,  I  found  that 
the  work  had  been  stopped,  although  the  end  of  the  level  was  supposed  to  be 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  lode. 

The  same  vein,  apparently,  has  also  been  recently  opened,  at  a  distance  of 
about  half  a  mile  in  a  direction  nearly  north  20°  east,  in  the  town  of  East- 
hampton.  Here  the  lode  is  large,  and  contains  porous  and  crystallized  quartz 
and  gossan,  but  is  destitute  of  ore ;  it  is  what  the  Cornish  miners  would  call 
a  "  hungry  lode." 

Farther  on,  in  Northampton,  about  two-thirds  of  a  mile  from  the  last-men- 
tioned opening,  another  attempt  at  mining  was  made  in  1852  and  1853,  but 
the  work  was  abandoned  when  I  was  last  there.  Here  two  shafts  have  been 
sunk  at  80  feet  distance  from  each  other,  and  to  a  depth  of  about  50  feet. 
The  apparent  direction  of  the  lode  here  is  north  64°  east,  so  that  if  this  is  the 
same  vein  which  is  opened  at  Southampton  and  Easthampton,  it  must  have 
changed  its  course  somewhat.  The  gangue  resembles  that  found  at  the  last- 
mentioned  excavation,  and  the  appearance  of  the  lode  is  the  same  as  to  width, 
&c.,  but  there  is  more  blende  and  copper  pyrites  mixed  with  the  galena.  In 
the  most  northern  shaft,  the  vein  is  over  10  feet  wide,  and  has  little  patches  of 
lead  scattered  through  it. 

The  only  place  where  any  work  is  now  doing  (March  1854),  is  at  the  North- 
ampton Silver  Lead  Mining  Company's  mine,  next  adjoining  on  the  north  to 
the  one  just  described,  and  distant  from  it  only  200  or  300  feet.  Here  a  shaft 
has  been  sunk  65  feet,  which  is  now  discontinued,  and  an  adit  is  driving 
towards  the  vein,  and  will  intersect  it  near  the  bottom  of  the  shaft._  It  is 
driven  through  coarse-grained  granite,  costing  $12  50  a  foot  to  break:  it  is 
expected  that  the  vein  will  be  cut  by  July  1st.  The  lode  here,  as  in  the  other 
places  where  it  has  been  opened,  consists  of  quartz,  with  galena,  some  blende, 
and  a  few  little  bunches  of  copper  pyrites. 

All  these  openings  appear  to  be  on  one  great  vein,  which  has  a  general  di- 
rection of  about  north  25°  east  5  the  distance  from  the  most  northern  opening 
in  Northampton  to  the  most  southern  one  in  Southampton  being  about  two 
miles.  If  not  the  same  vein,  there  must  be  two  veins  very  similar  in  character 
and  in  mineral  contents,  and  not  far  distant  from  each  other. 

Although  this  lode  is  so  well  defined  and  wide,  I  cannot  recommend  its  being 
farther  worked.  The  cost  of  opening  it  would  be  very  great,  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  it  will  increase  in  richness  in  depth ;  at  least,  it  has  not 


392  LEAD    MINES    IN    CONNECTICUT. 

done  so  in  any  of  the  openings  which  have  been  made  on  it,  up  to  this  time. 
I  should  recommend  that  the  Southampton  adit  be  continued  to  intersect  the 
lode,  provided  the  distance,  when  accurately  determined,  be  not  too  great ;  and 
unless  a  considerable  change  shall  be  found  to  have  taken  place  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  vein,  all  farther  attempts  at  working  it  should  be  abandoned.  There 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  patience  of  the  adventurers  will  hold  out  until 
that  depth  is  reached,  where,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  the  vein  is  to  become  rich 
enough  to  be  worth  working. 

Quite  a  number  of  lead  veins,  similar  to  the  one  just  de- 
scribed, have  been  noticed  in  this  part  of  Hampshire  County, 
in  the  towns  of  Westhampton,  "Williamsburgh,  Goshen,  Hat- 
field,  and  Whately.  In  the  latter,  there  are  three  veins  which 
are  known  to  contain  lead,  but  they  have  not  been  explored 
to  any  extent.  According  to  President  Hitchcock,  State 
Geologist,  there  is  in  Russell  a  vein  from  2  to  3  feet  wide, 
containing  galena  and  copper  pyrites.  In  Leverett,  the  oc- 
currence of  galena  in  two  veins,  with  a  gangue  of  quartz  and 
heavy  spar,  is  noticed. 

The  State  Geologist  remarks,*  "that  the  central  parts  of 
Hampshire  County  contain  extensive  deposits  of  lead,  which 
may  be  of  great  value  to  posterity,  if  not  to  the  present  gene- 
ration." Thus  far,  the  result  of  the  explorations  has  not  been 
of  a  nature  to  render  us  very  sanguine  of  the  speedy  approach 
of  the  time  when  these  veins  will  be  profitably  worked. 

CONNECTICUT. — The  indications  of  galena  are  abundant  in 
this  state,  but  there  seem  to  be  but  few  localities  where 
mining  for  it  has  been  carried  on  to  any  extent.  A  mine 
was  opened  at  Brookfield  some  years  since,  which  was  ex- 
pected to  prove  rich  in  lead ;  but  the  deposit,  which  was  con- 
tained in  a  white  limestone,  proved  to  be  a  mere  bunch,  and 
not  a  continuous  bed,  or  vein.  At  the  locality  in  Monroe, 
called  Lane's  Mine,  which  is  so  well  known  to  mineralogists 
from  the  variety  of  minerals  occurring  there,  galena  has  been 
found  disseminated  through  a  bed  of  quartz,  but  not  in  worka- 
ble quantity ;  it  is,  however,  very  rich  in  silver,  the  lead  pro- 
duced from  it  containing,  according  to  Prof.  Silliman's 
analysis,  from  2  to  3-5  per  cent,  of  that  metal. 

At  Plymouth,  a  mine  has  been  worked  to  some  extent,  on 

*  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Massachusetts,  p.  202. 


MIDDLETOWN    SILVER-LEAD    MINE. 


393 


Fig.  39. 


what  is  supposed  to  be  a  vein ;  I  have  no  information  as  to 
its  value. 

The  most  important  silver-lead  mine  in  the  state,  is  that 
near  Middletown,  about  two  miles  south  of  the  city,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Connecticut. 

Middletown  Silver  and  Lead  Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company.  This 
mine  is  thus  noticed  by  the  State  Geologist  in  his  Report.*  "  It  (galena) 
here  occurs  in  a  thin  bed  or  seam  of  quartz  included  in  mica-slate,  having  a 
thickness  of  from  10  to  20  inches.  The  strata  dip  west  between  35°  and  140°. 
The  ore  is  associated  with  blende,  iron  pyrites,  and,  rarely,  with  yellow  copper 
pyrites.  These  ores,  however,  form  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  seam,  into 
the  composition  of  which  a  plumbaginous  argillite,  or  mica-slate,  often  enters. 
The  galena  seems  even  less  abundant  than  some  of  the  other  sulphurets.  The 
excavations  prove  that  the  mines  must  have  been  wrought  formerly  to  a  con- 
siderable extent." 

The  annexed  section  (Fig.  39.) 
will  serve  to  show  the  extent  of  the 
workings  at  present,  and  that  por- 
tion of  them  which  was  executed 
many  years  since.  The  excava- 
tions shaded  by  oblique  lines 
represent  the  old  mine,  as  it  was 
when  opened  in  1852,  and  those 
in  vertical  lines  show  the  work 
done  since  that  time  by  the  present 
company. 

By  whom   this   mine   was  first 

wrought  there  remains  no  tradition  among  the  inhabitants ;  it  is  certain  that 
it  must  have  been  many  years  previous  to  the  revolutionary  war.  The  early 
history  of  Connecticut  shows  that  Gov.  John  Winthrop  had  obtained,  as  early 
as  the  year  1651,  a  license  giving  him  almost  unlimited  privileges  for  working 
any  mines  of  "  Lead,  Copper,  or  Tin,  or  any  minerals ;  as  Antimony,  Vitriol, 
Black  Lead,  Allum,  Salt,  Salt  Springs,  or  any  other  the  like ;"  and.  he  was 
allowed  "  to  enjoy  forever  said  mines,  with  the  lands,  woods,  timber,  and  water 
within  two  or  three  miles  of  said  mines."  A  special  grant  was  made  to  Gov. 
Winthrop  of  any  mines  or  minerals  he  might  discover  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Middletown.  There  seems  to  be  no  positive  evidence  that  the  Middletown 
mine  was  worked  by  him,  but  his  grandson  John  Winthrop,  F.R.S.,  was 
evidently  well  acquainted  with  the  existence  of  deposits  of  lead,  silver,  and 
other  metals  in  this  state,  of  whose  minerals  he  made  a  large  collection,  which 
he  forwarded  to  the  Royal  Society. 

The  vein  is  included  within  the  strata  of  a  silicious  slate,  and  at  the  surface 
appears  to  have  the  same  general  direction  and  dip  as  the  formation  itself.  Its 


Section  of  the  Middletown  Silver-lead  Mine. 


*  Report  on  the  Geol.  Surv.  of  Conn.  p.  52. 


394  LEAD    MINES    IN    NEW    YORK. 

course  in  the  adit-level  is  about  north  50°  east,  and  it  dips  to  the  northwest 
about  45°.  In  the  adit  its  width  averages  about  18  inches,  but  in  the  level 
below  it  expands  to  nearly  three  feet.  The  gangue  is  principally  quartz,  some- 
times in  crystallized  plates  or  combs,  with  some  calc.  spar,  and  a  very  little 
sulphate  of  baryta  and  fluor  spar,  in  fine  crystals.  In  the  lower  level  the  vein 
is  made  up  of  silicious  matter  and  a  dark  slate-colored  argillaceous  substance, 
in  alternating  bands,  with  strings  and  seams  of  ore  of  a  few  inches  in  width. 

The  ore  is  a  highly  argentiferous  galena,  some  of  which  is  fine-grained,  and 
other  portions  largely  crystalline.  There  is  some  blende  associated  with  the 

galena  in  these  seams,  and  generally  occurring 
Fig.  40.  on  the  sides  of  the  bands  of  that  ore,  and  not 

intermixed  with  it.  Some  copper  pyrites  has 
also  been  found,  in  small  strings  and  bunches, 
associated  with  the  galena.  The  vein  sends  off 
flat  branches,  seemingly  in  the  direction  of  a 
set  of  cross-cleavages  of  the  strata,  as  shown 
in  the  annexed  section  (Fig.  40.),  one  of  which, 
near  the  adit-level,  was  worked  by  the  old 

Branching  of  the  lode  at  the          miners,  and  found  rich  in  ore  for  a  limited  dis- 
Middletown  Mine. 

tance. 

Since  the  present  company  commenced  operations,  the  principal  shaft  has 
been  sunk  on  the  lode  to  a  depth  of  about  120  feet  below  the  old  workings, 
and  the  20-fathom  level  driven  each  way  for  a  few  fathoms  ;  parts  of  the  lode 
are  wide  and  rich,  but  other  portions  are  poor,  and  too  much  mixed  with 
silicious  matter  to  be  worth  working.  The  vein  has  also  been  traced  for 
some  distance  to  the  west,  and  opened  by  an  adit-level  driven  in  on  its  course. 
The  opening  of  this  mine  will  be  vigorously  pushed  by  the  company,  with  a 
view  to  ascertain  whether  it  can  be  worked  with  profit.  The  galena  contains, 
according  to  Mr.  Pattinson's  assays,  from  25  to  75  oz.  of  silver  to  the  ton  (of 
21  cwts.)  of  lead,  the  fine-grained  variety  yielding  only  one-third  as  much 
of  this  metal  as  the  coarsely  cubical  ore;  a  fact  quite  contrary  to  what  is  com- 
monly observed  with  regard  to  the  richness  of  lead  ores  in  silver,  the  finer 
grained  almost  always  containing  a  considerably  higher  percentage  of  this 
metal  than  the  coarse  varieties. 

There  are  several  other  veins  on  the  property  of  the  company,  which  are, 
however,  of  minor  importance. 


YORK.  —  The  lead  deposits  in  the  metamorphic  rocks 
of  this  state  are  chiefly  in  Columhia,  Dutchess,  Washington, 
and  Rensselaer  Counties.  According  to  Prof.  Mather,*  State 
Geologist  for  that  district,  the  ores  of  lead  are  situated  in 
veins  traversing  the  strata  near  the  junction  of  limestone 
with  slate-rocks,  where  they  had  been  upturned  and  exposed 

*  Report  on  the  Geol.  of  New  York,  p.  498. 


NEW    YORK.  395 

to  great  derangements,  and  more  or  less  affected  by  meta- 
morphic  agency. 

The  mine  which  has  heen  most  extensively  wrought  is  the 
Ancram  or  Livingston  Mine,  in  Ancram,  Columbia  County. 

It  is  opened  in  an  argillaceous  slate,  near  its  junction  with 
a  sparry  limestone.  Prof.  Mather  describes  the  lode  as 
being  about  4  inches  wide,  and  having  a  gangue  of  quartz, 
carrying  galena,  blende,  and  copper  pyrites.  It  has  a  course 
of  south  70°  west,  and  dips  nearly  vertically,  while  the  lines 
of  bedding  of  the  slates  dip  to  the  east  from  60°  to  70°. 
The  vein,  which  is  narrow  at  the  surface,  widens  in  its 
descent. 

Prof.  Beck  notices  this  locality  in  his  description  of  the 
mineralogy  of  the  state,  and  remarks  that  it  has  not  the 
characteristics  of  a  true  vein,  but  is  rather  a  collection  of 
strings  and  bunches  parallel  with  the  strata,  the  ore  not 
being  bounded  by  any  regular  walls,  but  gradually  losing 
itself  in  the  adjacent  rock. 

He  adds  that  the  mine  has  been  extensively  worked  at 
various  times,  with  large  expenditures,  but  no  returns ;  and, 
furthermore,  that  there  is  nothing  at  this  locality  which 
would  warrant  any  additional  outlay. 

This  mine  has,  however,  been  recently  taken  up  again  by 
a  New  York  company,  called  the  "American  Silver-Lead 
Company."  The  old  shafts  have  been  cleaned  out,  and 
found  to  present  sufficiently  favorable  appearances,  in  the 
opinion  of  A.  C.  Farrington,  Esq.,  to  justify  a  farther  expen- 
diture in  opening  the  mine. 

Lead  mines  have  been  worked  in  Northeast,  about  five 
miles  southeast  of  Pineplains,  in  Dutchess  County,  on  the 
farms  of  Judge  Bockee  and  Mr.  Ward  Bryan.  A  company 
of  German  miners  made  some  explorations  here  in  1740, 
and  procured  some  ore,  which  was  sent  abroad  to  be  smelted. 
Afterwards,  during  the  revolutionary  war,  an  attempt  was 
made,  under  the  direction  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  to  procure  lead  here  for  supplying  the  army.  The 
veins  are  said  by  Prof.  Mather  to  be  too  small  for  success- 
ful working.  A  mine  in  this  county  has  been  recently 


896        LEAD  MINES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

taken  up  by  a  New  York  company,  but  I  am  unable  to 
state  whether  it  is  the  same  one  which  is  alluded  to  above. 

Although  the  lead  does  not  seem  to  be  abundant  in  this 
region,  yet  it  is  generally  rich  in  silver;  some  specimens  have 
been  assayed  with  extraordinary  results.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  companies  who  have  recently  commenced  mining 
here  will  soon  ascertain  satisfactorily  what  the  real  value  of 
these  argentiferous  veins  may  be. 

PENNSYLVANIA. — The  interesting  metalliferous  region  in 
Montgomery  and  Chester  Counties  has  already  been  alluded 
to  in  a  former  chapter.*  Not  having  visited  the  mines  of 
this  district,  my  notice  of  them  will  be  chiefly  extracted  from 
the  published  reports  of  Prof.  H.  D.  Rogers  and  Dr.  Genth. 

These  mines  are  situated  near  the  junction  of  the  New  Red 
Sandstone  and  the  gneiss,  or  metamorphic  palaeozoic;  as  has 
already  been  mentioned,  the  cupriferous  veins  of  the  district 
are  chiefly  confined  to  the  sandstone  and  shale,  and  bear  those 
ores  in  that  formation,  while  the  lead-bearing  lodes,  although 
in  some  instances  entering  the  sandstone,  are  best  developed 
in  the  gneiss,  and  are  there  almost  solely  worked. 

Four  lodes  carrying  principally  lead  are  mentioned  by  Prof. 
Rogers  as  more  or  less  explored,  and  there  are  several  others 
less  known.  These  are  the  "VVheatley  and  Brookdale,  the 
Chester  County,  the  Montgomery,  and  the  Charlestown 
Lodes.  The  two  first-mentioned  do,  however,  bear  lead  in 
the  shale,  which  forms  only  a  superficial  cap  of  inconsiderable 
thickness  upon  the  metamorphic  strata  below. 

The  gneiss  is  described  as  being  decomposed  down  to  a  very 
considerable  depth,  so  that  the  shallow  excavations  in  the 
mines  are  made  with  great  facility.  It  is  intersected  by 
numerous  dykes  of  granite,  greenstone-trap,  and  other  igneous 
rocks,  which  sometimes  cut  the  strata  vertically,  and  some- 
times are  parallel  with  the  planes  of  the  enclosing  rock. 

The  greater  number  of  the  lodes  of  this  district  have  a 
course  of  about  north  32°  east,  and  they  dip  to  the  south- 
east; another  set,  however,  runs  north  52°  to  54°  east;  but 
there  seems  to  be  no  marked  distinction  in  the  character  of 
the  two  systems,  if  such  they  may  be  called. 

*  See  page  328. 


WHEATLEY    MINE.  397 

The  principal  gangue  of  the  veins  is  quartz,  with  some 
heavy  spar.  The  ores  found  comprise  almost  every  variety 
of  lead  ore  usually  found  on  the  backs  of  plumbiferous  lodes 
when  decomposed.  Specimens  of  extraordinary  beauty  from 
this  region  were  exhibited  in  ISTew  York  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  among  which  sulphate,  carbonate,  phosphate,  molyb- 
date,  and  chro  mate  of  lead  were  conspicuous  for  their  beauty. 
The  following  are  the  principal  mines  which  have  been  or 
are  worked  for  lead  and  silver. 

Chester  County  Mining  Company.  This  company  took  possession  of  the 
mine  in  June  1850,  at  which  time  an  adit  had  been  driven  837  feet,  cutting 
two  veins  and  draining  a  third  by  a  cross-cut,  and  some  other  work  had  been 
done,  from  which  about  twenty  tons  of  lead  ore  and  a  little  copper  had  been 
taken. 

There  are  two  veins,  of  which  the  principal  one  has  a  course  of  north  53° 
east,  and  dips  75°  to  the  north.  The  other  has  a  course  of  nearly  north  34° 
east,  and  dips  south.  The  principal  ore  obtained  from  the  workings  was 
pyromorphite,  or  phosphate  of  lead,  mixed  with  galena;  the  sulphate  and  car- 
bonate were  also  found  in  some  quantity.  The  pyromorphite  contained,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Genth's  analysis,  71*5  per  cent,  of  lead,  and  0*0054  of  silver, 
with  a  considerable  quantity  of  sesquioxide  of  chromium,  to  which  substance 
the  dark-green  color  of  the  mineral  was  found  to  be  owing.  A  little  blende 
and  indigo  copper  were  also  found.  The  coarsely-granular  galena  gave  16*2  oz. 
of  silver  to  the  2000  Ibs.,  the  radiated  and  finely-granular  0'0406  per  cent.,  or 
11*9  oz.  to  the  2000  Ibs.;  while  the  pyromorphite  contains  only  1'G  oz.  in  the 
same  quantity. 

Some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  smelting  the  ores  of  this  mine,  on  account 
of  their  being  so  much  mixed  with  the  phosphates.  A  furnace  was  erected  by 
the  company  in  1851,  and  after  some  experimenting  was  found  to  answer  the 
purpose,  and  is  said  to  have  smelted  the  ore  with  entire  success.  Up  to  Nov. 
1851,  190,400  Ibs.  of  dressed  ore  had  been  worked,  producing  about  47  per 
cent,  of  metallic  lead ;  the  ores  smelted  up  to  that  time  were  almost  exclu- 
sively phosphates. 

Mining  has  not  been  carried  on  at  this  place  for  some  time,  but  there  is  a 
furnace  and  establishment  for  desilverizing  and  smelting  lead  ores,  which  is 
thevonly  one  for  this  purpose  in  the  United  States. 

Wheatley  Mine.  According  to  Prof.  Rogers's  Report,  dated  May  1st,  1853, 
this  lode  has  been  opened  for  a  length  of  3072  feet.  The  adit-level  is  1279 
feet  long.  The  vein  in  this  distance  varies  in  width  from  1  to  2?  feet,  ave- 
raging about  18  inches.  Its  dip  is  about  68°.  On  the  1st  of  August  last,  the 
main  shaft  was  down  234  feet,  and  is  expected  to  cut  the  lode  at  the  50-fathom 
level,  if  its  dip  continues  regular.  Another  shaft,  at  194  feet  distance  from 
the  engine  shaft,  is  sunk  on  the  lode  to  a  depth  of  174  feet,  and  a  third  is  100 


LEAD  MINES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

feet  deep,  and  will  cut  the  lode  at  the  20-fathom  level.  The  20-fathom  level 
has  been  driven  560  feet,  and  the  10-fathom  935  feet 

At  the  date  of  Prof.  Rogers's  Report  about  360  fathoms  of  ground  had  been 
stoped,  but  the  amount  of  ore  produced  is  not  given.  He  estimates  that  one 
half  of  the  lode  is  too  poor  to  pay  for  taking  down,  and  that  the  productive 
portion  will  yield  from  1^  to  1£  tons  per  fathom. 

A  high-pressure  engine  of  24-inch  cylinder  is  erected  for  pumping  at  this 
mine. 

Brocikdale  Nine.  This  is  on  a  continuation  of  the  Wheatley  Lode,  the  engine 
shafts  being  2076  feet  distant  from  each  other.  The  lode  is  stated  to  average 
2  feet  in  width.  May  1,  1853,  the  engine  shaft  was  down  75  feet.  Prof. 
Rogers  remarks  that  the  indications  of  a  productive  vein  in  the  lower  levels  of 
this  mine  seem  as  encouraging  as  in  the  Wheatley  Mine.  But  little  ore  ap- 
pears as  yet  to  have  been  raised.  An  engine  of  24-inch  cylinder  and  8  feet 
stroke  is  working  at  this  mine,  where  the  influx  of  water  is  somewhat  trouble- 
some. 

Charlestown  Mine.  This  mine  is  opened  on  a  lode  parallel  with  the  Wheatley 
Lode,  and  distant  from  it  about  half  a  mile.  It  varies  in  width  from  2£  to  4 
feet.  Near  the  surface  it  is  much  decomposed,  and  contains  but  little  ore.  It 
is  recommended  by  Prof.  Rogers  as  being  worthy  of  the  necessary  expenditure 
to  open  it  to  a  depth  of  from  25  to  30  fathoms.  For  that  purpose  a  fine 
Cornish  steam-engine  has  been  erected,  and  the  shaft  is  said  to  be  down  nearly 
200  feet  at  this  time. 

Several  other  companies  have  worked  here  more  or  less  at 
different  times,  but  the  above-described  seem  to  include  all 
which  promise  to  be  of  any  consequence.  It  remains  to  be 
seen  what  developments  will  be  made  in  sinking  on  these 
interesting  lodes  to  a  considerable  depth.  Should  they,  as  is 
to  be  hoped,  be  found  to  improve  in  character  as  they  de- 
scend, they  may  be  profitably  worked. 

NORTH  CAROLINA.  —  Throughout  the  auriferous  belt  of 
rocks  extending  from  Pennsylvania  into  Georgia,  galena  has 
been  occasionally  found,  in  connection  with  the  iron  and 
copper  pyrites,  and  the  other  ores  of  the  gold-veins.  The 
Lemmond  Mine  has  already  been  noticed  as  producing  a 
galena  rich  in  gold  and  silver.  The  quantity  thus  far  found 
has  been  but  small ;  it  is  thought,  however,  to  increase  in 
some  cases,  as  the  mines  are  worked  downwards. 

The  only  mine  in  the  southern  gold  region  which  has  been 
worked  to  any  extent,  up  to  the  present  time,  for  lead  or 
silver,  is  the  Washington  Mine,  in  Davidson  County,  North 
Carolina;  it  is  not  now  in  operation,  having  been  stopped  in 


WASHINGTON    MINE. 


399 


October  1852,  but  its  past  history  is  interesting  to  those  who 
are  watching  the  development  of  the  veins  of  the  Southern 
States. 


Fig.  41. 


Section  of  the  Washington  Mine. 


Washington  Mine.  This  mine,  which  is  situated  about  10  miles  south  of 
Lexington,  was  discovered  about  1836  by  Mr.  Roswell  King,  and  worked  by 
him  for  several  years,  when  it  was  sold  to  a  Philadelphia  company,  by  whom 
it  was  worked  until  1852.  On  visiting  the  locality  in  1853,  I  found  the  mine 
inaccessible,  as  it  was  filled  with  water ;  but  it  was  carefully  examined  and 
reported  on  in  1845  by  R.  C. 
Taylor ;  and  from  his  report, 
as  well  as  from  information  ob- 
tained at  the  mine,  and  from  Dr. 
F.  A.  Genth,  who  formerly  had 
charge  of  the  smelting  depart- 
ment, the  account  here  presented 
has  been  drawn.  The  annexed 
transverse  section  (Fig.  41),  gives 
a  view  of  the  lodes,  and  of  the 
shafts  and  cross-cuts  by  which 
they  have  been  worked  :  it  re- 
presents the  state  of  the  work- 
ings at  the  time  the  mine  was 
stopped,  when  the  deepest  shaft 
had  been  sunk  about  15  feet 
below  the  200-foot  level. 

There  are  two  principal  lodes,  nearly  parallel  with  .each  other,  and  both 
coincident  in  dip  and  direction  with  the  stratification  of  the  rock  in  which  they 
are  enclosed,  which  is  a  silicious  and  talcose  slate,  very  variable  in  its  charac- 
ter, but  usually  much  softened  and  decomposed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
lodes.  These  are  quite  variable  in  size,  expanding  from  a  few  inches  to  10  or 
12  feet.  The  workings  upon  them  are  confined  within  a  space  of  about  150 
feet,  and  it  appears  that  the  vein  has  been  lost,  or  cut  off  by  a  heave,  in  each 
direction. 

From  the  surface  to  the  200-foot  level,  the  ground  removed  in  the  vein  gra- 
dually decreases  in  length  j  and,  according  to  Mr.  Taylor,  it  appears  that  the 
planes  which  limit  the  lodes,  although  nearly  vertical,  are  not  parallel  to  each 
other,  but  inclined  at  an  angle,  so  that  they  would  meet  if  prolonged  j  and  as 
the  lodes  dip  in  the  direction  of  their  intersection,  the  extent  of  ground  com- 
prised between  them  at  each  lower  level  is  less  than  in  the  one  above. 

A  great  variety  of  beautiful  ores  of  lead  were  found  near  the  surface,  such 
as  the  carbonate,  phosphate,  and  sulphate.  The  west  vein  yielded,  in  1844, 
between  the  60  and  100-foot  levels,  very  rich  silver  ores,  and  beautiful  arbo- 
rescent and  dendritic  masses  of  the  native  metal  were  obtained.  These,  how- 
ever, became  more  and  more  infrequent  as  the  mine  was  wrought  in  depth, 
and  below  the  125-foot  level  had  pretty  much  disappeared.  This  lode  was  ex- 


400       LEAD  MINES  IN  UNALTERED  ROCKS. 

cavated  along  a  space  of  300  feet  in  length  in  the  upper  levels,  and  for  200 
feet  found  rich  in  argentiferous  lead. 

The  east  lode,  on  the  whole,  was  found  richest  in  silver;  at  170  feet  it  still 
exhibited  arborescent  native  metal,  and  was  considered  by  Mr.  Taylor  as  the 
more  valuable  of  the  two. 

The  ores  obtained  from  the  mine,  during  the  more  recent  years  of  working, 
consist  mostly  of  fine-grained  blende  mixed  with  galena,  and  both  containing 
a  not  inconsiderable  portion  of  auriferous  silver.  Dr.  Genth  remarks*  that 
the  tenor  of  the  sulphurets  in  this  mine  in  silver  is  very  variable.  They  con- 
tain from  2'5  to  195  oz.  to  the  2000  Ibs.  The  usual  yield  of  the  ores,  how- 
ever, was  from  7  to  10  oz.,  and  the  average  of  200  assays  gave  7'5  oz.  An 
average  sample  of  the  workable  ore  gave  the  following  as  its  composition  : — 

Sulphuret  of  Lead,  -  21-9 

Copper  pyrites,      -  1-8 

Iron  pyrites,  -  17-1 

Blende,        -  59-2 
Gold  and  silver,    -------  0-025 


100-025 

The  ore  was  prepared  by  hand-sorting,  stamping,  and  washing  on  joggling- 
tables ;  it  was  then  roasted  in  ovens  measuring  12  feet  by  5,  and  5  feet  high, 
in  which  it  was  arranged  in  layers,  alternating  with  other  layers  of  mixed  wood 
and  coal.  After  being  thus  roasted  for  10  days,  it  was  submitted  to  a  second 
roasting  process  in  the  reverberatory  furnace.  It  was  then  smelted  in  slag- 
hearth  furnaces,  which  operated  very  imperfectly,  returning  not  much  more 
than  half  the  lead  required  by  assay  of  the  ores.  The  argentiferous  lead  was 
then  cupelled  and  the  silver  separated  on  a  bone-ash  test,  and  the  litharge 
afterwards  reduced  to  metallic  lead. 

The  produce  of  this  mine  from  the  beginning  cannot  be  given.  In  the 
printed  reports  of  the  company,  that  of  the  year  1844  is  stated  at  $24,009  07 
of  silver  and  $7253  69  of  gold,  produced  from  160,000  Ibs.  of  lead,  an  average 
of  240  oz.  of  auriferous  silver  to  the  2000  Ibs. 

From  information  received  at  the  mine  it  appears  that,  in  1851,  the  produce 
of  the  mine  was  56.896  Ibs.  of  lead,  and  7942'!  6  oz.  auriferous  silver,  an  average 
of  11'2  oz.  to  the  ton  of  ore,  and  279  oz.  to  the  ton  of  lead  produced. 

It  is  believed  by  Dr.  Genth  that  this  ore  maybe  profitably  smelted,  if  a 
proper  system  should  be  adopted.  The  question  of  the  quantity  to  be  obtained 
from  the  mine  would  appear  to  be  the  most  important  one  to  be  settled  in  de- 
termining the  value  of  the  property.  If  the  lodes  are  confined  within  as  narrow 
limits  as  appears  from  Mr.  Taylor's  reports,  then  the  supply  of  ore  must  give 
out  at  a  very  moderate  depth,  and  any  farther  idea  of  reopening  the  mine  would 
have  to  be  abandoned. 

LEAD    MINES    IN   THE    UNALTERED   PALAEOZOIC    ROCKS. 

The  localities  included  under  this  head  are  few  in  number 
in  the  Atlantic  States,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  they  are  all  in 

*  MS.  communication. 


ULSTER    COUNTY.  401 

the  State  of  New  York.  Many  instances  of  the  occurrence 
of  galena  in  the  various  groups  of  the  New  York  system, 
are  noticed  by  the  State  Geologists,  but  in  few  cases  have 
they  been  thought  worthy  to  become  the  object  of  mining 
enterprise. 

Along  the  southern  edge  of  the  great  azoic  nucleus  of  this 
state,  in  the  counties  of  Herkimer,  Montgomery,  and  Lewis, 
many  specimens  of  lead  ore  have  been  obtained  from  the 
Lower  Silurian  strata.  In  the  last-named  county,  near  the 
village  of  Martinsburgh,  according  to  Prof.  Beck,  galena  is 
found  associated  with  pyrites,  in  narrow  veins,  traversing  the 
Trenton  Limestone.  Some  explorations  have  been  made 
here,  at  an  expense  of  a  few  thousand  dollars,  without  suc- 
cess. The  ore  is  interesting  to  mineralogists  from  its  being 
crystallized  in  perfect  octohedra.  Excavations  have  been 
made  in  Herkimer  County,  near  Salisbury  Corners,  but  no 
mines  are  opened,  and  the  locality  is  of  no  importance.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  veins  near  Flat  Creek,  in  the  town 
of  Root,  in  Montgomery  County. 

Specimens  of  blende  and  galena  are  not  unfrequently  met 
with  in  the  Upper  Silurian  strata,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Rochester,  and  from  thence  to  Niagara  Falls,  but  they  are  of 
no  value,  although  at  least  one  company  has  been  formed 
for  working  such  deposits ;  they  seem  to  be  mere  isolated 
bunches  in  the  rock. 

The  principal  deposits  of  the  ores  of  lead  in  the  unmeta- 
morphosed  rocks  of  New  York  are  in  Sullivan  and  Ulster 
Counties,  where  they  are  now  being  mined  to  some  extent. 
The  Montgomery  Zinc  Mine,  near  Wurtsboro,  which  was 
considered  a  lead  mine  at  one  time,  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. This  vein,  if  the  ore  is  as  abundant  as  is  claimed, 
may  become  of  importance  at  some  future  day,  but  at  present 
it  is  of  no  value. 

In  Ulster  County,  a  mine  was  opened  and  worked,  in  1837, 
by  the  "  North  American  Coal  and  Mining  Company,"  near 
Eedbridge.  According  to  Prof.  Mather,  the  deposit  of  ore 
is  on  a  line  of  fault,  where  the  fractured  grit-rock  abuts 
against  the  broken  and  bent  edges  of  the  slate  of  the  Hudson 
River  group.  The  space  between  the  slate  and  the  grit  is 

26 


402  ULSTER    MINE. 

filled  with  a  silicious  gangue,  containing  quartz  crystals  in 
great  numbers  and  of  large  size,  more  or  less  interspersed 
with  masses  of  blende,  galena,  copper  pyrites,  and  iron 
pyrites.  The  mine  was  opened  by  a  shaft  and  levels,  driven 
into  the  mountain  at  different  heights,  but,  according  to  Prof. 
Beck,  there  was  no  encouragement  to  carry  on  the  work. 

The  Ellenville  Mine  was  opened  near  the  village  of  that 
name,  at  the  base  of  the  Shawangunk  Mountain ;  it  is  said 
by  Prof.  Mather  to  be  in  a  transverse  break  of  the  strata, 
ranging  north  60°  east,  and  dipping  nearly  vertically.  The 
mine  was  first  worked  about  1820,  and  was  again  taken  up 
at  a  later  period,  with  little  success,  as  it  appears. 

Another  mine  near  Ellenville  has  been  recently  opened 
and  worked  by  the  Ulster  Company,  and  considerable  ore 
obtained.  From  the  Reports  of  the  President  of  the  Com- 
pany, J.  T.  Hodge,  Esq.,  it  appears  that  work  was  com- 
menced here  in  February  1853.  The  vein  is  represented  as 
being  one  of  a  series  of  nearly  vertical  fissures  which  traverse 
the  strata  of  the  Shawangunk  grit,  of  which  the  mountain  is 
made  up.  This  fissure  is  found  to  open  in  some  places  to  a 
considerable  width,  and  in  others  to  close  up  entirely,  there 
being  only  a  mere  seam  or  crack,  destitute  of  veinstone  or 
ore.  "Where  the  fissure  expands,  which  it  does  sometimes  to 
five  feet,  it  is  found  more  or  less  filled  with  loose  fragments 
of  sandstone,  bunches  of  quartz  crystals,  and  lumps  of  copper 
and  lead  ores,  all  bedded  in  a  sticky  and  tough  yellow  clay. 

The  strata  of  the  grit  dip  towards  the  valley  at  an  angle  of 
about  48°,  and  the  courses  of  ore  in  the  fissure  appear  to  fol- 
low the  lines  of  stratification  pretty  nearly.  A  shaft  has  been 
sunk  100  feet  on  the  fissure,  at  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
and  a  drift  extended  into  it  for  a  distance  of  200  feet  (Jan. 
1854),  from  near  the  same  point.  Above  the  drift,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  few  feet,  the  walls  of  the  fissure  close  together ; 
but  below  they  open  out  into  a  wide  cavity,  whose  bottom 
has  not  been  reached. 

This  appears  to  be  an  immense  gash-vein  in  the  sandstone, 
and  will  probably  be  found  limited  to  that  rock,  which  seems 
throughout  this  region  to  be  congenial  to  the  development 
of  lead  ores.  Some  of  the  most  magnificent  specimens  of 


UPPER    MISSISSIPPI    LEAD    REGION.  403 

crystallized  quartz,  copper  pyrites,  and  galena,  ever  found  in 
the  country,  have  been  obtained  here.  The  rock  is  very 
hard,  and  the  cost  of  driving  the  level  amounts  to  $130  per 
fathom. 

Two  Scotch  hearths  have  been  erected  for  smelting  the 
lead  ore,  which  averages  in  the  furnace  about  70  per  cent,  of 
metal.  Up  to  the  2d  of  January,  $29,915  18  had  been  re- 
ceived from  sales  of  pig  lead  and  of  a  small  quantity  of 
copper  ore,  and  there  was  on  hand  lead  to  the  value  of 
$3375,  and  copper  ore  estimated  at  $2500. 

The  monthly  running  expenses  of  one  furnace  are  $280  25, 
including  fuel,  and  the  product  66,768  Ibs.  The  consump- 
tion of  fuel  by  each  furnace  is  3  cords  of  pine  wood  per 
week,  at  $2  25  per  cord.  The  running  expense  of  the  en- 
gine is  about  $70  86  a  month.  The  lead  produced  contains, 
according  to  Mr.  Hodge,  about  12  oz.  of  silver  to  the  ton,  an 
amount,  under  present  circumstances  in  this  country,  not 
worthy  of  being  taken  into  consideration. 

At  the  Old  Ellenville  Mine,  before-mentioned,  prepara- 
tions have  been  made  to  sink  a  shaft  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, where  the  indications  are  considered  by  Mr.  Hodge  as 
favorable.  A  third  vein  has  also  been  discovered  on  the 
property  of  the  company,  about  20  rods  from  the  present  mine. 

The  value  of  these  veins,  of  course,  depends  on  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  fissures  in  length  and  depth,  which  can  only 
be  determined  by  actual  mining.  According  to  James  Hall, 
the  thickness  of  the  Shawangunk  grit  at  this  point  is  over 
500  feet,  so  that  there  is  no  lack  of  room  for  the  development 
of  an  extensive  deposit  of  ore. 

LEAD   DEPOSITS    OF   THE    UPPER   MISSISSIPPI. 

The  great  lead  deposits  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  may  be 
considered  under  two  heads :  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  the 
Missouri  Mines.  At  the  "West,  they  are  commonly  distin- 
guished as  the  Upper  and  the  Lower  Mines.  The  first  ot 
these  divisions  comprehends  the  lead  region  lying  in  the 
southwestern  portion  of  Wisconsin,  and  including  a  small 
part  of  the  adjacent  states  of  Illinois  and  Iowa.  The  second 
embraces  the  mines  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  lying  princi- 


404   DISCOVERY    OF    THE    LEAD    OF    THE    NORTHWEST. 

pally  south  of  the  Missouri  River.  Although  these  deposits 
possess  many  features  in  common,  yet,  as  they  are  geographi- 
cally, and  in  some  respects  geologically,  distinct,  they  will  be 
considered  separately,  commencing  with  those  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi. 

The  lead  deposits  of  the  Northwest  were  undoubtedly  well 
known  to  the  aboriginal  inhabitants.  Galena  has  been  re- 
peatedly found  in  the  western  mounds,  but  no  metallic  lead  ;* 
it  would  seem  hardly  possible,  however,  that  the  race  which 
had  sufficient  skill  in  mining  to  procure  the  copper  of  Lake 
Superior  from  a  depth  of  50  feet  in  the  solid  rock,  should  not 
have  had  ingenuity  enough  to  perform  the  simple  operation 
of  smelting  the  pure  galena  of  the  Mississippi  mines.  It  is 
generally  understood  that  the  "Buck  Lode,"  near  Galena, 
was  well  known  to  the  Indians. 

The  first  excitement  on  the  subject  of  mining  in  this  re- 
gion dates  back  to  the  famous  expedition  of  Le  Sueur,  in 
1700  and  1701.  On  his  voyage  up  the  Mississippi,  he  noticed 
many  mines  of  lead  along  its  banks ;  but  his  most  wonderful 
discoveries  were  a  short  distance  up  the  St.  Peter's  River, 
where  he  found  what  he  supposed  to  be  mountains  of  copper 
ore,  ten  leagues  long.  He  wintered  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mukahto,  or  Blue  River,  as  it  was  called  by  him,  and  in  the 
spring  he  returned  down  the  Mississippi  with  a  cargo  of  this 
valuable  article  ;  in  regard  to  the  disposition  which  was  made 
of  it  when  it  arrived  in  France,  history  is  silent. 

The  Missouri  mines  had  been  worked  for  some  time  before 
any  farther  attention  was  given  to  the  remote  region  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi.  In  1788,  however,  a  French  miner  named 
Julien  Dubuque,  who  had  previously  settled  there,  obtained 
a  grant  from  the  Council  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  which  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Carondelet,  at  that  time  Governor 
of  Louisiana,  of  a  tract  of  land  situated  upon  the  western 
bank  of  the  river,  and  including  the  site  of  the  now  flourish- 
ing town  of  Dubuque.  Here  he  remained  engaged  in  mining 
until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1809.  The  land  occu- 
pied by  him  was  relinquished  to  the  United  States  by  the 

*  Squier  and  Davis,  Smithsonian  Contributions,  Vol.  i.  p.  208, 


BOUNDARIES    OF    THE    LEAD    REGION.  405 

Indians  in  1882,  and  although  Dubuque's  representatives 
claimed  it,  they  were  forcibly  ejected. 

By  the  Act  of  March  3d,  1807,  all  the  government  lands 
containing  lead  were  ordered  to  be  reserved  from  sale,  and 
leases  were  authorized.  None,  however,  were  issued  until 
1822,  and  but  a  small  quantity  of  lead  was  raised  previous 
to  1826,  from  which  time  the  production  began  to  increase 
rapidly.  For  a  few  years  the  rents  were  paid  with  tolerable 
regularity ;  but,  after  1834,  in  consequence  of  the  immense 
number  of  illegal  entries  of  mineral  land  at  the  Wisconsin 
Land  Office,  the  smelters  and  miners  refused  to  make  any 
farther  payments,  and  the  government  was  entirely  unable 
to  collect  them.  After  much  trouble  and  expense,  it  was,  in 
1847,  finally  concluded  that  the  only  way  was  to  sell  the 
mineral  lands,  and  do  away  with  all  reserves  of  lead  or  any 
other  metal,  since  they  had  only  been  a  source  of  embarrass- 
ment to  the  Department. 

In  1839,  a  geological  survey  of  the  Lead  Region  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi  was  authorized  by  Congress,  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  extent  of  the  productive  lead  formation,  with  a 
view  to  the  preparation  of  a  plan  for  the  sale  of  the  lands 
previously  reserved  as  mineral.  This  survey  was  intrusted 
to  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen,  by  whom,  with  the  aid  of  139  assistants, 
it  was  completed  in  the  course  of  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year. 

The  extent  of  the  lands  reported  by  Dr.  Owen  as  belong- 
ing to  the  productive  lead  region,  is  thus  given  by  him.* 
They  lie  "  chiefly  in  Wisconsin,  including,  however,  a  strip 
of  about  eight  townships  of  land  in  Iowa,  along  the  western 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  the  greatest  width  of  which  strip  is 
on  the  Little  Mequoketa,  about  twelve  miles  from  east  to 
west,  and  including  also  about  ten  townships  in  the  north- 
western corner  of  Illinois.  The  portion  of  this  lead  region 
in  Wisconsin  includes  about  sixty-two  townships.  The 
entire  lead  region,  then,  comprehends  about  eighty  town- 
ships, or  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  square 
miles,  being  about  one-third  larger  than  the  State  of  Dela- 

*  Report  of  a  Geological  Exploration  of  a  Part  of  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Illinois, 
&c.  Senate  Doc.,  1844. 


406  UPPER    MISSISSIPPI    LEAD    REGION. 

ware.  The  extreme  length  of  this  lead  region,  from  east  to 
west,  is  eighty-seven  miles;  and  its  greatest  width,  from 
north  to  south,  is  fifty-four  miles." 

The  principal  mining  centres  are  Galena,  in  Illinois ;  Mi- 
neral Point,  in  Wisconsin ;  and  Dubuque,  in  Iowa.  The 
Mississippi  runs  along  the  western  edge  of  the  tract,  and  the 
course  of  the  Wisconsin  River  is  nearly  parallel  with  its 
northern  line,  and  distant  from  it  only  a  few  miles.  The 
face  of  the  country  occupied  by  the  mining  region  is  not 
broken  by  any  mountain  ranges ;  the  highest  points,  namely 
the  Blue  Mounds,  hardly  rise  more  than  200  feet  above  the 
general  level.  The  streams  generally  run  through  valleys 
excavated  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  the 
limestone,  and  bounded  by  steep  escarpments,  above  which 
the  land  is  only  gently  undulating.  The  soil  is,  in  the  main, 
of  high  fertility.  "Wood,  however,  is  comparatively  scarce. 

In  tracing  along  the  members  of  the  great  Silurian  forma- 
tion, from  the  east  towards  the  west,  we  find  some  of  the 
groups  which  were  most  conspicuous  and  strikingly  marked 
in  New  York,  thinning  out  and  vanishing  altogether  as  they 
pass  through  the  Lake  Superior  district  and  bend  south  into 
Wisconsin.  The  subject  of  these  changes  in  the  various 
subordinate  groups  of  the  Silurian  system  and  their  palaeon- 
tological  relations,  has  been  ably  investigated  by  James 
Hall.*  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen  has  given  us  some  of  the  details  of 
the  groups,  as  they  appear  in  the  Northwest ;  and  I  have  my- 
self, in  the  course  of  two  visits  to  the  lead  region,  in  one  of 
which  I  was  accompanied  by  I.  A.  Lapham,  Esq.,  of  Mil- 
waukee, made  an  examination  of  many  of  the  most  impor- 
tant localities.  The  most  striking  change  in  the  character 
of  the  Silurian  rocks  is  the  gradual  increase  of  calcareous 
matter,  and  the  passing  into  one  another  of  beds  previously 
lithologically  distinct.  The  intercalated  masses  of  conglo- 
merate and  grits,  which  in  New  York  separate  groups  dif- 
fering in  their  organic  contents,  are  wanting  at  the  West ; 
and  limestones  and  shales,  with  fine-grained  sandstones,  take 
their  places,  and  there  are  fewer  subdivisions  recognizable 
by  lithological  characters.  This  the  annexed  table  of  equiva- 

*  See  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Lake  Superior,  Part  II. 


ORDER    OF    SUCCESSION    OF    THE    ROCKS. 


407 


lent  formations  in  the  States  of  ISTew  York  and  Wisconsin 
will  illustrate : — 


GROUPS  RECOGNIZED   IN  NEW   YORK. 

Potsdam  Sandstone. 
Calciferous  Sandstone. 


Lower 

Silurian. 

Trenton  Group,  including  the 

Birdseye,  Chazy,  and  Black 
River  Limestones. 
Hudson  River  Group. 
Medina  Sandstone  and  Clinton 
Upper  Group,  wanting  at  the  West. 

Silurian.      Niagara  Group. 

Onondaga  Salt  Group. 

Devonian.  }  Upper  Helderberg  Limestone. 


NATURAL  DIVISIONS  AT  THE  "WEST. 

Lower  Sandstone. 

Lower  Magnesian  Limestone. 

'Intercalated  mass  of  sand- 
stone, a  repetition  of  the 
Lower  Sandstone,  wanting 
at  the  East. 


limestone  and  marls. 


Upper    Magnesian,    or    Cliff 
Limestone. 


Confusion  was  caused  for  a  long  time  by  the  fact  that  the 
western  geologists  included  rocks  of  so  many  different  ages 
under  the  rubric  of  "  Cliff  Limestone  ;"  and  it  was  left  un- 
certain, until  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Hall  settled  the  mat- 
ter, whether  the  lead-bearing  rock  was  really  Lower  or  Upper 
Silurian.*  Since  that  time,  Mr.  Lapham  and  myself  have 
made  large  collections  of  fossils  in  the  lead-bearing  region, 
and  have  fully  confirmed  Mr.  Hall's  views,  so  far  as  the  fact 
of  the  occurrence  of  the  lead  in  the  Lower  Silurian  is  con- 
cerned. 

We  pass  now  to  some  details  of  the  mode  of  occurrence 
of  the  lead  in  the  rock.  The  first  important  fact  to  be  ob- 
served is  this,  that  the  deposits  of  lead  are  confined  almost 
exclusively  to  a  certain  part  of  the  Lower  Silurian  formation. 
The  general  order  of  succession  of  the  rocks  throughout  the 
lead  region  is  as  follows,  in  an  ascending  order : — 

1.  A  soft,  friable  sandstone. 

2.  Limestone,  Lower  Magnesian,  or  Calciferous  Sandstone. 

3.  Sandstone;  a  repetition  of  No.  1. 

4.  Blue  limestone. 

5.  Galena  Limestone,  or  lead-bearing  rock. 

6.  Niagara  Limestone. 


*  See  F.  and  W.'s  Report,  Part  II.,  p.  147. 


408  ROCKS    NEAR    GALENA. 

No.  1  crops  out  in  the  valley  of  tlie  Wisconsin  River,  but 
nowhere  comes  to  the  surface  in  the  lead  region  proper.  No. 
2  has  been  penetrated  by  boring  through  the  sandstone  at 
Mineral  Point.  In  general,  however,  at  this  place,  the  lowest 
rock  exposed  is  a  ferruginous,  somewhat  friable  sandstone, 
lying  nearly  horizontally  and  heavy-bedded ;  this  is  No.  3  of 
the  above  section. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Galena,  the  lowest  rock  seen  is  the  gray, 
thin-bedded,  and  exceedingly  fossiliferous  limestone,  No.  3 
of  the  section  above.  It  has  been  uncovered  in  digging  the 
foundation  of  a  mill,  about  four  miles  up  Fever  River.  This 
is  the  only  point  in  the  vicinity  where  I  could  find  the  rocks 
below  the  Galena  Limestone  exposed.  The  upper  layers  are 
rather  shaly,  and  occupy  a  thickness  of  a  few  feet ;  below 
them  comes  a  rock  exactly  like  the  "  glass-rock"  of  Mineral 
Point,  a  hard,  brittle,  dove-colored  limestone,  in  layers  a  foot 
thick,  but  increasing  in  thickness,  while  the  rock  becomes 
less  brittle  and  more  arenaceous,  as  it  goes  down ;  a  thickness 
of  25  feet  is  exposed  below  the  Galena  Limestone.  The 
thin-bedded  portion  of  this  limestone,  and  the  slaty,  thin 
seams  between  the  beds  of  the  "  glass-rock,"  are  filled  with 
fossils  of  the  Trenton  Limestone. 

Above  this  rock  comes  the  Galena  Limestone,  the  lead- 
bearing  rock,  which  forms  the  mass  of  the  escarped  hills 
around  Galena,  and  which  is  about  200  feet  in  thickness. 
No  lithological  difference  can  be  observed  between  that  rock 
and  the  Upper  Silurian  which  is  seen  in  the  summits  of  the 
highest  points  of  land  in  the  vicinity,  for  instance  Pilot 
Knob,  where  Niagara  fossils  are  found.  The  excavations  for 
lead,  around  Galena,  appear  nowhere  to  reach  the  blue  lime- 
stone, and  certainly  none  of  them  go  through  it.  Neither 
are  they  in  the  highest  portions  of  the  Galena  Limestone 
proper,  but  chiefly  confined  to  the  middle ;  so  that,  in  reality, 
the  productive  portion  of  the  formation  does  not  exceed  100 
feet  in  thickness. 

The  same  general  facts  are  true  with  regard  to  the  Wis- 
consin rocks.  In  the  vicinity  of  Madison  a  soft  yellowish 
rock  is  quarried  for  building  purposes.  It  is  a  portion  of  the 
Calciferous  Sandstone,  ihterstratified  with  the  upper  part  of 
the  Potsdam.  The  two  are  so  intermixed  that  it  is  difficult  to 


MINERAL    POINT.  409 

separate  one  from  the  other.  No  fossils  were  observed  in 
them,  but  portions  of  the  limestone  bands  are  abundantly 
covered  with  dendritic  impressions.  There  is  evidently  a 
great  expansion  of  the  inferior  or  Potsdam  sandstone  through- 
out the  northern  part  of  Wisconsin.  Above  these  alterna- 
tions is  seen  the  blue  limestone,  which  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Madison  is  filled  with  large  orthoceratites.  At  the  Blue 
Mounds  a  complete  section  of  the  rock  is  obtained,  from  the 
blue  limestone,  which  is  reached  in  the  deepest  excavations 
in  the  neighborhood,  up  to  the  Niagara,  which  forms  the 
summit  of  the  West  Mound.  About  75  feet  of  the  upper 
part  of  this  elevation  is  made  up  of  a  cherty  rock,  filled  with 
geodes  of  quartz  and  agate  and  containing  Niagara  fossils, 
such  as  Favosites  Niagarensis,  and  Pentamerus  oblongus. 
There  is  no  lithological  distinction  to  be  made  between  the 
rocks  which  occupy  the  space  from  the  blue  limestone  to 
the  Niagara,  although  they  seem  to  represent  both  the 
Trenton  and  Hudson  River  groups.  It  is  interesting  to 
remark  that  as  we  go  farther  west,  the  lithological  distinction 
which  is  so  apparent  at  the  Blue  Mounds  between  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Silurian  becomes  entirely  lost,  for,  as  shown 
above,  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  the  rock  is  homogeneous 
from  the  blue,  or  Trenton,  up  to  the  Upper  Helderberg. 

At  Mineral  Point  the  lead  is  recognized  by  the  miners  as 
occurring  generally  at  three  different  stages  of  level,  known 
by  them  as  "openings,"  of  which  the  middle  is  much  the 
most  productive.  The  following  is  the  section  there  pre- 
sented : — 

8.  Yellow  Galena  limestone,  75  feet. 
Lead. — 7.  Upper  opening,  3  to  8  feet. 

6.  Glass-roak  or  cap-rock;  a.  brittle,  hard  limestone,  9  to  12  feet. 
Lead. — 5.  Middle  opening,  3  to  8  feet. 

4.  Soft  spongy  limestone,  13  to  18  feet. 
Lead. — 3.  Lower  opening,  4  to  8  feet. 

2.  White,  soft,  Galena  limestone,  1  to  2  feet. 

1.  Red  sandstone. 

The  glass-rock  represents  the  blue  limestone;  thus  the 
true  limit  of  the  lead-bearing  rock,  in  this  district,  is  the 
sandstone  above  the  Lower  Magnesian  Limestone. 


410    MODE  OF  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  GALENA. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Dubuque,  the  lead-bearing  rocks  rise  to 
between  200  and  225  feet  above  the  river,  and  attain  to  a 
greater  thickness  than  farther  east.  The  principal  fossils 
here  are  the  "lead-fossil"  (Meceptaculites),  and  Lingula  quad- 
rata.  The  diggings  here  seem  to  be  entirely  in  the  Galena 
Limestone,  and  have  not  reached  to  the  blue.  Of  forty-five 
species  of  fossils  collected  by  Mr.  Lapham  and  myself  in  the 
lead-bearing  beds  of  Wisconsin,  thirty-two  are  of  Trenton 
age,  five  are  of  the  Birdseye,  Black  River,  and  Chazy  groups, 
and  the  rest  common  to  the  Hudson  River  group  and  the 
Trenton  Limestone. 

MODE  OF  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  GALENA. — There  are  no  de- 
posits of  lead  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  which  can  be" 
considered  as  coming  under  the  head  of  true  veins.  They 
are  invariably  limited  in  depth.  It  has  been  shown  above 
that  the  diggings  are  all  in  a  certain  geological  formation, 
and  that  the  productive  part  of  this  does  not  generally  exceed 
a  hundred  feet  in  thickness.  In  the  vicinity  of  Galena,  no 
ores  are  found  below  the  blue  limestone ;  and  throughout 
the  Mineral  Point  district,  the  limit  of  the  fissures  and  hori- 
zontal deposits  is  the  sandstone,  in  which  hardly  a  trace  of 
metalliferous  substances  occurs,  and  where  there  are  no 
fissures.  This  rock  is  exposed  in  the  valleys  of  the  principal 
streams,  so  that  abundant  opportunity  is  afforded  to  examine 
it;  and  if  it  contained  anything  of  value,  the  explorations 
would  long  since  have  revealed  the  fact. 

Below  this  sandstone,  in  the  limestone  commonly  called 
the  Lower  Magnesian,  a  few  instances  are  known  in  which 
deposits  of  lead  have  been  worked ;  but  so  rare  are  they,  and 
of  so  recent  date  is  their  discovery,  that  Dr.  Owen  stated,  after 
his  survey  of  the  district,  that  no  discoveries  of  value  had 
been  made  below  the  blue  limestone.  "Were  the  fissures 
found  to  extend  through  the  sandstone,  so  that  they  could 
be  followed  into  the  limestone  beneath,  it  might  possibly  be 
advisable  to  sink  into  the  latter  rock ;  but  they  are  not  thus 
continuous,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  corre- 
sponding fissures  would  be  found  in  the  rock  below  the  sand- 
stone ;  sinking  through  the  latter,  therefore,  in  mere  random 
explorations,  with  the  hope  of  finding  valuable  deposits, 


VERTICAL    FISSURES.  411 

would  be  a  very  foolish  enterprise.  The  space  over  which 
the  Lower  Magnesian  Limestone  crops  out  is  so  small  in 
comparison  with  that  occupied  by  the  productive  lead  rock, 
and  the  discoveries  thus  far  made  in  it  are  so  insignificant, 
that  no  material  increase  in  the  production  of  lead  can  be 
anticipated  from  that  source. 

The  fissures  from  which  the  lead  is  obtained  in  the  produc- 
tive rock  are  very  irregularly  distributed.  It  may  perhaps 
be  said  that  their  prevailing  direction  is  either  proximately 
north  and  south,  or  east  and  west.  According  to  Dr.  Owen, 
the  north  and  south  fissures  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi 
are  always  very  thin.  My  own  observations  did  not  enable 
me  to  deduce  any  general  law  respecting  them. 

The  width  of  the  fissures  is  very  variable ;  they  sometimes 
widen  out  into  caverns  of  30  feet  or  more  in  diameter,  but 
generally  occupy  from  a  few  inches  to  a  couple  of  feet.  Their 
inclination  is  usually  nearly  vertical,  with  numerous  zigzags 
and  other  irregularities. 

The  annexed  figure  (Fig.  42)  will  re- 
present a  frequent  form  of  these  gashes, 
with  horizontal  branches  running  off 
parallel  with  the  stratification,  and  gra- 
dually losing  themselves  within  a  short 
distance.     Their  linear  extent  is  rarely 
very  considerable.     The  surface  indica- 
tions of  such  fissures  are  various,  but 
not  very  reliable,  as  is  evident  from  the 
immense  number  of"  prospecting  holes" 
in    the    vicinity    of   every  productive 
"lead;-  the  whole  surface  is  usually 
filled  with  them.     Depressions  in  the 
surface  soil,  pieces  of  "float-mineral,"  even  the  growth  of 
plants  with  long  radicles  in  a  linear  direction,  are  noticed  by 
the  miner,  and  help  to  direct  him  in  his  researches.  Of  course, 
where  the  fissure  closes  up  before  reaching  the  surface  of  the 
rock,  as  represented  in  Fig.  42,  or,  in  other  words,  where 
the  formation  has  not  been  denuded  so  as  to  lay  bare  the 
productive  stratum,  or  cut  into  the  fissures,  all  signs  may  be 
said  to  fail. 


412      FORMS  OF  DEPOSIT  OF  THE  GALENA. 

The  ore  found  is  almost  exclusively  pure  galena,  contain- 
ing hardly  an  appreciable  trace  of  silver.  Carbonates,  phos- 
phates, and  other  oxidized  combinations,  seem  to  be  quite 
rare.  Hence  the  lead  produced  is  very  pure  and  soft,  and 
brings  a  higher  price  in  the  market  than  any  other. 

The  varieties  of  the  forms  of  deposit  of  the  galena  may  be 
classed  as  follows : — 

1.  Simple  Alluvial  Deposits.     These   are   masses   of  ore, 
"gravel-mineral,"  or  "float-mineral,"  as  they  are  commonly 
called,  which  are  imbedded  in  the  superficial  soil.     The  lo- 
calities where  such  pieces  are  sufficiently  abundant  to  be 
collected,  are  called  "  clay  diggings."     The  fragments  of  ore 
thus  found  have  been  washed  out  from  the  decomposing 
rock,  and  left  irregularly  distributed  through  the  clay  and 
sand. 

2.  Deposits  in  Vertical  Fissures.     These  fissures  appear,  so 
far  as  my  observations  have  extended,  to  be  destitute  of  any 
proper  gangue;  certainly  in  the  majority  of  instances,  they 
are  filled  with  a  tough,  dark-red,  and  ferruginous  clay,  in 
which  loose  masses  of  ore  are  promiscuously  scattered.     I 
examined  a  large  number  of  diggings  in  vertical  fissures, 
without  finding  in  any  of  them  any  appearance  characteristic 
of  true  veins,  such  as  distinct  gangues,  selvages,  or  striated 
and  smoothed  walls.     Besides  the   clay  and   ore  in  these 
fissures,  there  is  often  intermixed  with  them  a  quantity  of 
the  detritus  of  the  adjacent  rock,  and  fragments  of  veinstone. 
In  general,  these  fissures  have  a  very  limited  extent  longitu- 
dinally.    To  be  convinced  of  this,  it  is  sufficient  to  examine 
the  appearance  of  the  diggings  in  any  of  the  productive  por- 
tions of  the  region ;  it  will  be  found  entirely  impossible  to 
account  for  their  arrangement  and  position  on  any  hypothesis 
of  a  system  of  extensive  parallel  fissures. 

In  the  strata  favorable  to  their  development,  the  fissures 
expand  out  and  become  productive  in  lead;  hence  such 
strata  are  called  openings.  In  the  Mineral  Point  region,  the 
miners  say  that  there  are  three  such  openings,  of  which  the 
middle  one  is  the  most  productive.  Often  the  fissures 
commence  and  terminate  entirely  in  one  opening ;  at  other 
times  they  are  continued  by  a  mere  crack  or  seam  from 


ASSOCIATED    MINERALS.  413 

one  to  another,  across  an  intervening  bed  of  unproductive 
rock. 

Sometimes  the  expansions  become  sufficiently  extensive  to 
deserve  the  name  of  caves,  and  are  found  to  contain  very 
large  quantities  of  ore.  Dr.  Owen  notices  one  very  interest- 
ing instance  of  this  kind,  discovered  at  the  Vinegar  Hill  dig- 
gings in  1828.  It  was  35  feet  in  length,  expanding  in  the 
centre  to  the  wridth  of  6  or  8  feet,  and  terminating  in  a  point 
at  each  end.  The  walls  were  cased  with  galena  for  about  a 
foot  in  thickness,  forming  a  hollow  shell  of  ore.  This  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  most  remarkable  discovery  of  ore 
ever  made  in  the  lead  region. 

3.  Deposits  in  Flat  Sheets. — This  appears  to  me  to  have 
been  the  original  form  in  which  most  of  the  lead  was  de- 
posited. Here  it  is  often  observed  accompanied  by  a  gangue, 
and  unmixed  writh  clay  and 

J  Fisr.  43. 

detritus.  These  sheets  are 
of  various  dimensions,  gene- 
rally elongated  in  one  direc- 
tion, and  thinning  out  on  all 
sides  from  the  centre.  Seve- 
ral such  flat  sheets  are  some- 
times found  connected  toge- 

.  -IT  Horizontal  deposit  of  lead  ore. 

ther  by  vertical   or  oblique 

fissures  containing  ore,  as  represented  in  the  annexed  figure 

(Fig.  43),  thus  descending  from  one  stratum  to  another  by 

zigzags. 

The  principal  veinstone  associated  with  the  galena  is  calc. 
spar,  or  "tiff,"  as  it  is  usually  called  by  the  miners;  some- 
times heavy  spar  is  found.  Flat  sheets  of  these  veinstones 
alternate  with  others  of  calamine  or  "  dry-bone,"*  black- 
jack, and  iron  pyrites.  In  some  places  the  latter  minerals 
are  more  abundant  than  the  lead  itself.  The  calamine  not 
unfrequently  is  the  predominating  mineral. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  lead  of 
this  region,  a  description  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  loca- 

*  Both  the  carbonate  and  silicate  occur  with  the  lead  ore  of  the  West 


414 


LOCALITY    NEAR    DUBUQUE. 


lilies  which  I  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  will  here  be 
given.  It  must  be  remembered  that  most  of  the  diggings 
are  mere  "prospecting  holes,"  and  that  one  may  visit  fifty 
of  these  in  succession  without  seeing  any  lead  actually  taken 
out,  or  any  indications  of  ore  or  veinstone  in  the  rubbish  at 
their  mouth.  But  occasionally,  a  fine  deposit  of  ore  is 
struck,  and  the  returns  of  a  few  months  make  up  for  years 
of  toil  and  anxious  expectancy.  Such  a  one  was  the  deposit 
of  ore  about  2J  miles  northwest  of  Dubuque,  called  Levins's 
Lead  or  Cave,  from  which,  in  1852,  great  quantities  of  ore 
were  being  taken.  This  deposit  was 
first  struck  in  prospecting,  by  a  drift 
run  in  on  the  side  of  a  gently-ascend- 
ing hill,  and  afterwards  a  shaft  was 
sunk  upon  it,  as  represented  in  the 
annexed  transverse  section  of  the  cave 
(Fig.  44).  The  shaft  descends  for  90 
feet,  when  the  fissure  begins  to  be  ap- 
parent, and  rapidly  widens  out  to  a 
cavity  30  feet  in  width.  From  the 
shaft,  at  a  depth  of  about  130  feet,  the 
drift  extended  875  feet  to  the  north 
65°  east,  and  200  to  300  in  the  oppo- 
site direction.  The  fissure  is  not  ab- 
solutely continuous  for  that  distance, 
but  nearly  so.  It  varies  from  a  mere  inch-wide  crack  to  a 
foot  or  more,  the  cave-like  expansion  occupying  a  length  of 
perhaps  50  or  100  feet.  The  lead  lies  in  the  fissure  irregu- 
larly; sometimes  in  heavy  masses,  at  other  times  entirely 
wanting.  It  is  without  gangue,  or  any  other  accompanying 
minerals  whatever,  but  is  generally  in  bunches  of  large  crys- 
tals, some  of  which  measure  three  inches  on  a  side.  Besides 
the  vertical  deposits  of  ore,  there  are  subordinate  horizontal 
ones,  sometimes  carrying  from  3  to  4  inches  of  solid  galena. 
Numerous  small  horizontal  strings  shoot  off  from  the  main 
fissure ;  but  the  principal  one,  and  that  which  seems  to  be  at 
the  bottom  of  the  deposit,  is  about  110  feet  below  the  mouth 
of  the  shaft,  represented  in  the  figure  by  the  dark-shaded 
patches  on  each  side  of  the  cavity  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder. 


Section  of  Levins's  Lead,  near 
Dubuque. 


THEORY    OF    THE    DEPOSITION    OP    THE    ORE.      415 

This  does  not  form  one  continuous  horizontal  deposit,  but 
may  plainly  be  seen  to  descend  from  one  stratum  to  another, 
as  represented  in  Fig.  43. 

The  action  of  water  in  wearing  out  this  cavity  and  break- 
ing up  the  original  deposits  of  lead,  which  undoubtedly 
extended  in  flat  sheets  across  the  whole  distance  now  exca- 
vated, is  beautifully  seen  throughout  the  mine.  At  the 
bottom,  a  stratum  of  loose  materials  of  unknown  depth  has 
been  deposited.  This  consists  of  red  clay  and  disintegrated 
limestone,  through  which  is  scattered  an  abundance  of 
slightly  rolled  masses  of  lead  ore.  In  many  places  the  clay 
is  seen  to  be  distinctly  stratified,  and  the  walls  of  the  fissure 
are  smoothed  and  the  projecting  corners  rounded  off;  while, 
what  is  still  more  interesting,  the  lower  surface  of  the  cap- 
rock  is  distinctly  water-worn  and  grooved,  as  if  currents  of 
water  had  poured  through  the  fissure  beneath  it. 

From  this  place  2,000,000  Ibs.  of  ore  had  already  been 
obtained,  and  it  was  estimated  that  at  least  as  much  more 
remained  to  be  taken  out.  The  water  was  found  very  trou- 
blesome, but  no  other  apparatus  was  used  for  removing  it 
than  a  horse-whim  and  bucket. 

At  another  locality  near  by,  the  lead  was  found  by  drifting 
from  another  mine,  at  a  depth  of  100  feet,  the  cap-rock  here 
being  90  feet  thick.  800,000  Ibs.  of  galena  had  been  taken 
out,  in  lumps  mixed  with  clay  in  a  vertical  fissure. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  describe  in  detail  any  more  of 
these  localities ;  the  mode  of  occurrence  is  similar  through 
them  all.  In  1852  the  diggings  were  mostly  in  Wisconsin, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Mineral  Point,  Platteville,  Shulls- 
burgh,  Hazle  Green,  Jamestown,  Potosi,  &c. 

The  theory  of  the  deposition  of  the  ores  occurring  in  the 
western  lead  region  cannot  here  be  entered  into  at  length. 
It  may  be  asserted  without  hesitation  that  they  are  deposits 
from  aqueous  solutions,  which  took  place  either  in  depres- 
sions of  the  surface,  or  in  vertical  fissures,  of  the  nature  of 
gash-veins,  produced  -by  the  shrinking  of  the  calcareous 
strata.  Thermal  springs  containing  salts  of  lead  in  solution, 
coming  in  contact  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  would  deposit 
their  lead  in  the  form  of  sulphuret  of  lead.  Casts  of  fossils 


416  PRACTICAL    INFERENCES. 

in  sulphuret  of  lead  are  not  unfrequent  in  this  region,  a  fact 
which  alone  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  aqueous  origin 
of  the  ore.  The  occurrence  of  deposits  of  galena  in  the  greatest 
abundance  directly  over,  and  almost  in  contact  with,  the  most 
fossiliferous  formation  of  the  "West,  is  worthy  of  notice.  The 
beds  of  the  blue  limestone,  which  are  replete  with  organic 
remains,  form  the  base  of  the  lead-bearing  beds,  and  it  is  by 
no  means  impossible  that  the  gases  evolved  in  the  decompo- 
sition of  such  an  amount  of  animal  matter  as  must  once  have 
existed  there,  may  have  had  a  material  influence  in  determin- 
ing the  precipitation  of  the  lead  from  the  plumbiferous  solu- 
tions lying  upon  them. 

From  what  has  been  said  thus  far  with  regard  to  the  mode 
of  occurrence  of  the  galena  and  the  position  of  the  rocks  in 
which  it  is  found,  a  few  inferences  of  a  practical  nature  may 
be  drawn,  which  are  not  without  importance  in  the  guidance 
of  expenditures  in  this  region. 

1.  The  deposits  of  lead  are  not  in  true  veins,  but  are 
limited  in  depth.     They  cannot,  therefore,  be  worked  on  an 
extensive  scale ;  and  the  formation  of  companies  with  large 
capital  and  expensive  machinery  to  develop  them  will  in  all 
cases  be   attended  with  loss.     A   simple,  portable   steam- 
engine,  with  a  moderate  outlay  of  money,  a  small  number 
of  hands,  and  a  limited  amount  of  time,  are  all  that  is  neces- 
sary to  exhaust  any  deposit  of  lead  which  ever  has  been  or 
ever  will  be  discovered  in  this  region.     All  the  sneering  at 
the  "surface-scratching"  of  the  West  is  absurd,  since  nature 
has  placed  the  mineral  at  or  near  the  surface. 

2.  The    development    of   deposits  of  ore  in  the  Lower 
Magnesian   Limestone,  on   any  scale  which  will   compare 
with  those  of  the  proper  lead-bearing  rock,  is  not  to  be 
expected.     Did  any  such  exist,  they  would  long  since  have 
been  found ;  and  a  few  isolated  instances  of  lead  ore  obtained 
in  this  formation  are  not  sufficient  evidence  of  its  productive- 
ness.    To  sink  through  the  sandstone  into  this  rock,  in  the 
expectation  of  finding  the  veins  continuous  below,  will  be 
surely  followed  by  disappointment. 

3.  The  production  of  the  lead  mines  of  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi  has  now  reached  its  maximum,  and  will,  although 


LEAD    REGION    OF    MISSOURI.  417 

perhaps  with  many  fluctuations,  on  the  whole  continue  to 
decline.  The  quantity  of  lead  produced  in  1852  and  1853 
was  but  little  more  than  one-half  of  what  it  was  in  1845  and 
1846,  and  that  in  spite  of  the  increase  of  value  in  the  ore 
raised,  amounting  to  almost  the  double.  No  doubt  the 
attractions  of  California  drew  away  many  of  the  miners ; 
but,  under  the  stimulus  of  a  greatly  increased  price,  others 
would  have  taken  their  places,  were  the  quantity  sufficient 
to  hold  out  inducement  of  reasonable  profits. 

The  decrease  in  the  yield  of  these  mines,  however,  will  be 
no  loss  to  the  vigorous  and  beautiful  State  of  Wisconsin  ;  for 
it  admits  of  a  demonstration  that  the  same  amount  of  labor 
applied  to  manufacturing  and  agricultural  pursuits  which  is 
now  wasted  in  prospecting,  would  more  than  earn  the  million 
and  a  half  of  dollars  which  she  annually  receives  for  her  lead. 

Some  remarks  will  be  added,  after  noticing  the  Missouri 
mines,  in  regard  to  the  smelting  processes  followed  in  the 
Upper  Mississippi  region,  and  the  statistics  of  the  yield  of 
both  the  Upper  and  the  Lower  mines  will  be  furnished  in 
one  table  a  few  pages  farther  on. 

LEAD    REGION    OF   MISSOURI. 

The  first  mining  operations  in  Missouri  were  commenced 
in  1720,  under  the  authority  of  the  patent  granted  to  Law's 
famous  company.  Renault  came  over  in  that  year,  with  a 
large  number  of  miners,  and  a  mineralogist,  named  La 
Motte ;  and  they  immediately  commenced  their  explorations, 
in  the  course  of  which  numerous  discoveries  of  lead  mines 
were  made,  but  none  of  the  more  valuable  metals  of  which 
they  were  in  search.  The  Mine  La  Motte  was  one  of  the 
first  and  most  important  localities  opened  by  the  person 
whose  name  it  still  bears.  About  that  time  some  lead  ore 
may  have  been  smelted,  but  regular  mining  operations  did 
not  commence  until  1798  ;  until  then,  the  ore  obtained  had 
been  raised  from  open  cuts,  and  smelted  on  log-heaps ;  but 
in  that  year  Moses  Austin  erected  a  reverberatory  furnace, 
and  commenced  sinking  the  first  regular  shaft  for  raising 
ore.*  He  also  erected  a  shot  tower,  and  made  many  other 

*  Schoolcraft's  View  of  the  Lead  Mines  of  Missouri  (1819),  p.  19. 

27 


418     GEOLOGY    OF    THE    MISSOURI    LEAD    EEGION. 

improvements,  so  that  lead-digging  began  to  be  a  regular 
business.  According  to  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  there  were  forty- 
six  mines  working  in  1819.  From  1834  to  1837,  Mine  La 
Motte  produced  on  an  average  1,035,820  Ibs.  of  lead  per 
annum.  The  largest  production  of  any  one  locality  was 
from  Mine  Shibboleth,  which,  during  the  year  1811,  is  said 
to  have  furnished  3,125,000  Ibs.  of  lead,  from  5,000,000  Ibs. 
of  ore.  Mine  SL  Burton  and  Potosi  Diggings  together  pro- 
duced, in  the  eighteen  years  from  1798  to  1816,  9,630,000 
Ibs.  of  lead,  or  an  average  of  half  a  million  pounds  per 
annum. 

All  these  mines  have  now  fallen  off  very  much,  and  most 
of  them  are  completely  exhausted,  so  that  but  little  informa- 
tion can  be  gathered  respecting  them,  even  by  travelling 
through  the  region. 

The  principal  mines  of  galena  in  Missouri  are  in  Wash- 
ington County,  near  Big  River  and  Mineral  Creek,  branches 
of  the  Maramee  River.  There  are  a  few  others  in  Franklin 
County,  on  the  last-named  river,  and  one  or  two  in  Jefferson 
County,  not  many  miles  south  of  St.  Louis. 

The  geological  position  of  the  metalliferous  deposits  of 
Missouri  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  Upper  Mississippi 
lead  mines,  but  the  detailed  succession  of  the  stratified 
rocks  in  the  former  region  has  not  yet  been  studied  with 
sufficient  care  to  enable  us  to  say  with  certainty  into  what 
groups  the  Lower  Silurian  of  Missouri  is  to  be  divided,  and 
in  which  one  of  them  the  lead  deposits  are  principally  con- 
centrated ;  nor  has  it  been  possible  hitherto  to  make  out  a 
parallelism  between  them  and  the  Lower  Silurian  groups  of 
"New  York  or  the  Northwest.  Throughout  the  Southwest, 
the  great  carboniferous  formation  exceeds  all  the  others  in 
its  development,  and  is  the  only  one  which  has  been  much 
studied. 

In  that  part  of  Missouri  which  I  have  examined,  in- 
cluding portions  of  St.  Genevieve,  "Washington,  Madison, 
and  St.  Francis  Counties,  I  found  the  stratified  rocks  over- 
lying the  azoic  nucleus  to  be  made  up  of  beds  of  limestone 
and  sandstone,  frequently  alternating  with  each  other,  and 
never  developed  to  any  very  great  thickness ;  they  are  also 


MINE    LA    MOTTE  —  MAMMOTH    LEAD.  419 

almost  entirely  destitute  of  fossils.  The  beds  are  thin,  and 
apparently  not  so  favorable  to  the  development  of  metalli- 
ferous ores  as  those  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  region.  There 
are  heavy  deposits  of  cherty  and  silicious  rocks,  in  which 
there  would  seem  to  be  little  encouragement  to  look  for  any- 
thing of  value. 

Mine  La  Motte  has  been  before  alluded  to,*  as  being  the 
most  celebrated  metalliferous  locality  in  Missouri.  In  the  last 
few  years,  but  little  appears  to  have  been  done  there.  In  1841, 
according  to  Mr.  Hodge,  200  persons  were  still  employed 
in  raising  and  smelting  ore  from  this  tract ;  "  skimming 
off  the  surface-ores  ;  one  set  throwing  their  rubbish  over  un- 
wrought  tracts,  which  another  set  will  remove  again  another 
year,  to  get  at  the  ore  below.  ~No  search  is  made  for  any 
other  ore  than  that  which  runs  in  horizontal  strata  through 
the  clay,  or  through  the  rock  near  the  surface."  The  miners 
know  very  well  that  it  is  useless  to  search  for  that  which 
does  not  exist.  The  granite  is  everywhere  near  the  surface, 
and  it  would  be  of  no  avail  to  attempt  to  find  anything  in 
that  rock.  In  1852,  the  number  of  men  employed  was  not 
more  than  twenty,  and,  from  all  appearances,  the  amount  of 
lead  produced  could  not  exceed  one  or  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds. 

The  "  Mammoth  Lead,"  a  few  miles  north  of  Potosi,  was 
visited  in  1845  by  Mr.  Christy,  f  and  is  described  by  him  as 
being  an  irregularly-formed  cavern,  in  which  the  lead,  with 
calcareous  spar,  was  found  in  large  masses,  mixed  with  clay 
and  sand. 

The  lead  deposits  of  Missouri,  on  the  whole,  strikingly  re- 
semble those  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  the  same  theo- 
retical observations  in  regard  to  the  occurrence  of  the  ore 
will  apply  to  both.  As  they  have  been  considerably  longer 
worked  in  the  former  state,  they  are  now  nearer  to  exhaus- 
tion, and  there  is  little  reason  to  believe  that  they  will  ever 
regain  the  importance  which  they  once  had. 

The  smelting  furnaces  throughout  the  West  are  all  on  the 
same  plan,  the  Scotch  hearth  being  in  universal  use.  The 

*  See  p.  310.  t  Letters  on  Geology,  p.  43. 


420        STATISTICS    OF    WESTERN    LEAD    REGIONS. 

blast  is  usually  supplied  by  a  large  bellows,  worked  by  a  small 
over-shot  water-wheel,  the  wrhole  arrangement  being  of  the 
most  simple  description.  The  slag  is  worked  over  in  a  round 
blast  furnace.  Owing  to  the  great  freedom  of  the  galena  from 
foreign  metalliferous  substances,  and  the  fact  that  most  of  it 
is  smelted  in  small  fragments,  these  arrangements  are  suffi- 
ciently economical  and  satisfactory  in  their  working ;  still,  a 
good  deal  of  the  lead  is  thrown  away  in  the  slag.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  more  than  70  per  cent,  of  metal  is  obtained  from 
the  ore. 

In  1819,  according  to  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  there  were  45  lead 
mines  at  work  in  Missouri,  of  which  39  were  in  "Washington 
County ;  and  they  were  estimated  to  produce  together  about 
8,000,000  Ibs.  of  metal,  giving  employment  to  1100  hands. 
The  culminating  period  of  their  prosperity  seems  to  have 
been  from  1830  to  1845,  and  since  that  time  they  have  de- 
clined very  considerably.  No  reliable  statistics  are  to  be  ob- 
tained of  the  last  few  years.  From  the  best  information  I 
could  collect  in  1852,  I  gathered  that  the  production  at  that 
time  did  not  probably  exceed  1500  tons. 

The  annexed  table  embodies  all  the  statistics  which  it  has 
been  possible  to  procure  of  both  the  Upper  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  lead  mines,  the  produce  being  given  in  tons  of 
metallic  lead.  Up  to  1839,  the  figures  given  have  been 
taken  from  Capt.  "W.  II.  Bell's  Report  on  the  Mineral  Lands 
of  the  Upper  Mississippi ;  these  appear  to  be  the  most  relia- 
ble, and  are  stated  to  have  been  obtained  from  the  records  of 
Messrs.  Collier  and  Kennet.  The  statistics  of  the  produce 
of  the  Upper  Mines,  since  1845,  were  furnished  by  Captain 
Beebe,  of  Galena,  who  has  kept  a  careful  record  of  the 
shipments  from  Galena,  Dubuque,  &c.  The  present  yield  of 
the  Missouri  mines  can  only  be  estimated,  as  the  data  which 
I  have  been  furnished  with  do  not  agree  sufficiently  to  allow 
them  to  be  made  use  of.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it 
has  fallen  off  considerably,  and  I  have  fixed  on  1500  tons  as 
the  most  probable  amount,  which,  indeed,  it  is  more  likely 
to  fall  below  than  to  exceed.  The  price  of  lead  for  the 
different  years  is  also  added,  in  order  to  throw  more  light  on 
the  fluctuations  in  the  production. 


TABLE   OF   YIELD    OF   WESTERN   LEAD    MINES.      421 


Upper 

Missouri 

Price  per  100  Ibs. 

Mississippi 

Mines. 

Total. 

at 

Mines. 

St.  Louis. 

Galena. 

1819,  . 

1,300 

1823,  . 

150 

1824,  . 

78 

1825,  . 

297 

984 

1,281 

182G,  . 

428 

1,343 

1,771 

1827,  . 

.   2,313 

1,614 

3,927 

$4  50 

1828, 

.   4,958 

2,857 

7,815 

3  30 

1829, 

5,957 

1,807 

7,824 

2  00 

1830,  . 

.   5,331 

1,832 

7,103 

2  13 

1831,  . 

.   5,309 

1,277 

0,040 

3  00 

1832,  . 

.   5,401 

3,487 

8,888 

4  25 

1833,  . 

0,008 

3,099 

9,707 

4  13 

1834,  . 

.   7,099 

2,853 

10,552 

4  25 

1835,   . 

.   8,409 

3,227 

11,090 

5  00 

1830,  . 

.  11,390 

2,826 

14,210 

5  13 

1837,  . 

9,708 

2,286 

11,994 

1838,  . 

.  10,811 

2,701 

13.512 

1839,  . 

.  11,970 

3,503 

15,539 

4  38 

1840,  . 

.  11,987 

2,793 

14,780 

4  38 

1841,  . 

.  14,150 

3,317 

18,171 

3  50 

1842,  . 

.  13,992 

3,348 

21,586 

§2  24 

1843, 

.  17,477 

2  34 

1844,  . 

.  19.521 

2  82 

1845,  . 

.  24,328 

2  90 

184G,  . 

.  23,513 

2  88 

1847,  . 

.  24,145 

3  17 

1848,  . 

.  21,312 

3  24 

1849,  . 

.  19,054 

3  07 

1850,  . 

.  17,708 

4  20 

1851,  . 

.  14,810 

1,500? 

4  08 

1852,  . 

.  12,770 

4  12 

1853,  . 

.  13,307 

5  50 

Galena  has  also  been  obtained  in  the  southern  part  of 
Illinois,  from  the  carboniferous  formation,  but  hitherto  in 
small  quantity.  I  understand  that  the  State  Geologist  con- 
siders it  probable  that  the  localities  will  become  of  some 
importance.  The  argentiferous  lead  ores  of  Arkansas  pro- 
bably occur  in  the  azoic,  but  little  is  known  of  their  value ; 
the  veins  are  said  to  be  too  small  for  successful  working. 

In  closing  the  chapter  devoted  to  lead,  the  usual  summing 
up  of  the  statistics  of  the  production  of  that  metal  will  be 


422 


TABLE  OF  THE  PRODUCE  OF  LEAD. 


given.  And  the  following  table  presents,  at  one  view,  the 
most  reliable  information  which  has  been  obtained  in  regard 
to  the  different  countries  of  Europe  and  the  United  States. 
Nothing  is  definitely  known  of  the  manufacture  of  lead  in 
Southern  Asia,  Africa,  or  South  America.  The  amounts  are 
given  in  tons  : — 


c 
1 

s 

1 

u 

ri 

1u 

1 

a 

0 

H 

M 

CO 

C 

M 

£ 

ffl 

EG 

1810, 

12,500 

1815, 

1820, 

81,900 

1825, 

183t, 

1835, 

711  av. 

49 

46,112 

1,480  av. 
1,213  " 

(•31)  5.645 
4:967 

146 
519 

1840, 

38 

1.643  " 

1845, 

52,695 

1.880  " 

1846, 

50,161 

2,179 

1847, 

55.703 

1.977 

1848, 

54.853 

3.344 

5,600 

1.041 

1849, 

58,727 

4.222 

1,423 

1850, 

750 

196 

64.752 

5.275 

5;000 

2.144 

1851, 

58.701 

7,195 

1,884 

1852, 

64,960 

1,000 

1853, 

61,000 

2 

.5 

g 

.2 

<u 

« 

cd 

I 

*£- 

o 

c 

• 

03 

1 

c3 
£ 

1 

5 

I 

"rt 

1 

1810, 

1815, 

1820, 

1.300 

1825, 
1830, 

5,943  av. 
6,442  " 

('26)  774 
708 

('23)  23.000 
('27)  36,000 

1,300 
7.500 

1835, 

5,623  « 

574 

12.000 

1840, 

5,851  « 

488 

('39)  27.500 

15,000 

1845, 
1846, 

6,417  " 

970 

('44)  25,000 
24.800 

250 

26.500 
25000 

1847, 

1S48, 

32 

5.937 
6,737 

31,000 

25,000 
2-2.500 

1849, 
1850, 

600 

30,000 

21.000 
19,500 

1851, 

16.500 

1852, 

H.OOO 

1853, 

15.000 

The  present  production  of  lead  throughout  the  world  may 
be  estimated  at  133,000  tons,  which  is  divided  among  the 
different  countries  according  to  the  annexed  table  of  actual 
and  relative  amounts : — 


STATISTICS    OP    LEAD. 


423 


Tons.        Relative  amount. 


Russia. 800 

Sweden, 200 

Great  Britain, 61,000 

Belgium, 1,000 

Prussia, 8,000 

Harz, 5,000 

Saxony, 2,000 

Rest  of  Germany, 1,000 

Austria, 7,000 

France, 1,500 

Spain, 30,000 

Italy, 500 

United  States, 15,000 


133,000 


•6 
•1 

45-9 

•8 

6- 

3-8 

1-5 

•8 

5-2 

1-1 

22-5 

•4 

11-3 

100-0 


In  order  to  complete  our  view  of  the  statistics  of  lead,  as 
connected  with  this  country,  another  table  is  appended  of 
our  exports  and  imports  of  this  metal  for  the  fiscal  years  from 
1840  to  1851 :— 


IMPORTED. 

EXPORTED. 

Year. 

Pig,  Bar,  Sheet,  Shot, 
Pipes,    Scrap,   and 
Old  Lead. 

Manufac- 
tures of 
Lead. 

Pewter, 
Old,  and 
Manufac- 
tures of. 

Lead. 

Manufac- 
tures of 
Pewter 
and  Lead. 

Excess  of 
Value  of 
Exports 
or  of 
Imports. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Value. 

Value. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Value. 

1840, 
1841, 

ex  p.  90 
"     29 

exp.  814.635 
«           3,464 

$901 
2,287 

$24.799 
17.221 

394 
972 

$39,687 
96,748 

$15.296 
20^546 

SH3.918  exp. 
101.250    " 

1842, 

13 

579 

236 

14.265 

6.496 

523.428 

16.789 

525,137     " 

1843, 

exp.         298 

35 

2.5-38 

6.850 

492.765 

7.121 

497.611     " 

1844, 

1 

55 

252 

8.223  1  595.238 

10.018 

604,954    " 

1845, 

8 

325 

4,548  |  342.646 

14,404 

356.725     " 

1S46, 

4 

142 

7.510 

614,518 

10,278 

624,654     " 

1847, 

12 

3.380 

2,164 

1.188 

1,485 

124,981 

13.694 

131.943     " 

1848, 

146 

6.377 

854 

2,216 

890 

84,278 

7,739 

82.570    " 

1849, 

1.085 

74.002 

754 

3.956 

304 

30,198 

13.196 

34.958  imp. 

1850, 

15908 

1,125.604 

304 

5,224 

116 

12.797 

22.682 

1,095.653     " 

1851, 

17,741 

1,370.158 

*exp.  266 

7,612 

102 

11,774 

16.426 

1.349.304     " 

1852, 

15,251 

1.151,474 

554 

1,991 

334 

32,725 

18.409 

1,102.825     " 

From  the  above  table  it  will  be  seen  that,  for  a  number  of 
years  previous  to  1848,  we  had  not  only  supplied  our  own 
consumption  of  this  metal,  but  had  exported  an  annual 
amount  of  about  half  a  million  of  dollars  in  value.  At 
present  we  are  importing  a  larger  quantity  than  we  produce, 

*  The  items  thus  marked  give  the  excess  of  re-exportation  of  foreign  lead,  imported  in  pre- 
vious years,  over  the  importations  of  that  year. 


424         FUTURE  PRODUCTION  OF  LEAD. 

although  the  price  of  the  metal  is  nearly  double  what  it  was 
when  we  were  exporting  most  largely.  The  fact  that  so 
great  an  increase  in  the  price  of  lead  has  not  stimulated  its 
production  in  this  country,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  has 
continued  to  decline,  is  due  partly  to  the  superior  attractions 
of  the  California  gold  fields,  but  still  more  to  the  exhaustion 
of  the  Western  lead  deposits,  which  from  their  nature  can 
never  again  attain  the  importance  which  they  once  had. 
We  must  now  look  to  the  mines  of  the  Eastern  States,  or  to 
other  deposits  to  be  discovered  in  regions  still  unexplored  in 
the  farthest  West,  to  make  up  the  deficiency  thus  caused. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

IRON. 
SECTION  I. 

MINERALOGICAL   OCCURRENCE   AND   GEOLOGICAL  POSITION   OP   THE 
ORES   OP   IRON. 

MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE. — Hitherto,  in  considering  the 
form  in  which  metallic  ores  occur,  it  has  been  seen  that  by 
far  the  largest  portion  of  them  are  in  the  form  of  sulphurets, 
the  combinations  of  the  metals  with  this  mineralizer  being 
most  widely  distributed ;  tin  is  an  exception  to  this  rule,  its 
chief  ore  being  an  oxide.  Iron,  also,  is  another  seeming  ex- 
ception, since  the  valuable  ores  of  this  metal  are  either  oxides 
or  oxidized  combinations.  The  sulphuret  of  iron  is  more 
widely  diffused,  perhaps,  than  any  other  existing  ore  of  any 
metal,  being  an  almost  universal  accompaniment  of  every 
other  metalliferous  ore ;  but  it  is  of  no  value  for  the  manu- 
facture of  iron,  since  the  other  ores  are  too  abundant  to  make 
it  worth  while  to  separate  the  iron  from  the  sulphur,  which 
could  only  be  imperfectly  done,  while  the  trace  of  sulphur 
remaining  would  be  deleterious  to  the  quality  of  the  iron. 
Sulphuret  of  iron  may  be  considered  more  properly  an  ore 
of  sulphur  than  of  iron,  since  it  is  used  for  the  production  of 
sulphuric  acid,  and  will  eventually  be  an  important  article  of 
commerce. 

Although  the  ores  of  iron  which  are  of  economical  import- 
ance are  not  many  in  number,  yet  iron,  in  some  form,  is 
almost  universally  diffused  both  through  the  organic  and  in- 
organic world.  Not  a  rock  or  a  stone  can  be  found  without 
at  least  a  trace  of  this  metal.  Nothing  is  visible  around  us 
which  is  wholly  without  its  presence.  The  history  of  its  dis- 


426    MINERALOGICAL  OCCURRENCE  OF  IRON. 

covery  and  use  is  lost  in  the  most  remote  antiquity ;  but  from 
its  affinity  for  oxygen,  and  consequent  liability  to  rust  and 
thus  lose  its  form  and  identity,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that 
we  should  possess  tangible  evidence  of  its  use  in  ancient  times. 
It  appears  from  Mr.  Layard's  researches,*  that  the  Assyrians 
were  well  acquainted  with  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  that 
they  employed  it,  together  with  bronze,  in  useful  and  orna- 
mental works ;  they  also  had  the  art  of  coating  iron  with 
bronze,  and  objects  thus  prepared  have  come  down  to  the 
present  time  with  the  former  metal  in  its  metallic  state.  The 
great  skill  now  shown  by  the  East  Indian  native  in  the 
metallurgy  of  iron,  and  the  surprising  results  he  is  enabled  to 
accomplish  with  the  rudest  and  simplest  means,  lead  us  to 
believe  that  the  knowledge  and  use  of  this  metal  may  have 
been  much  more  widely  diffused  among  the  ancients  than  is 
frequently  supposed,  or  is  inferred  from  the  fact  that  all  the 
tools  and  weapons  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  are  of 
bronze.  An  iron  pick,  found  at  Nimroud,  is  worthy  of  no- 
tice as  being  of  a  shape  which  would  make  it  serviceable  at 
this  day. 

NATIVE    METAL. 

Native  Iron.  The  occurrence  of  iron  in  its  native  state  is 
extremely  rare,  at  least  when  of  terrestrial  origin.  Meteoric 
iron,  an  alloy  usually  of  iron  and  nickel,  is  not  unfrequently 
found ;  and  there  is  a  mass  of  this  kind  in  the  Yale  College 
Cabinet,  which  weighs  1635  pounds ;  it  was  found  on  the 
Bed  River,  in  Texas.  The  only  place  in  this  country  where 
native  iron,  not  meteoric,  is  said  to  have  been  found,  is  in 
Canaan,  Connecticut,  and  here  the  precise  locality  cannot  be 
designated,  so  that  it  still  remains  a  matter  of  uncertainty. 

ORES. 

COMBINED   WITH    SULPHUR,  ARSENIC,  OR   PHOSPHORUS. 

Pyrites.  Sulphuret  of  Iron ;  contains  iron  46-7,  sulphur 
53-3.  This  mineral  occurs  abundantly  in  rocks  of  all  ages, 
from  the  oldest  crystalline  to  the  most  recent  alluvial ;  often 

*  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  pages  191  and  670. 


ORES    OF    IRON.  427 

in  fine  crystallizations,  which  from  their  yellow  color  are 
every  day  mistaken  for  gold.  This  species  affords  a  part  of 
the  sulphuric  acid  and  sulphate  of  iron  of  commerce,  and 
also  some  sulphur ;  but  it  is  of  no  use  as  an  ore  of  iron. 

Marcasite,  White  Iron  Pyrites  ;  has  the  same  composition 
as  the  last-mentioned  species,  but  is  crystallized  in  a  different 
form. 

Magnetic  Pyrites.  This  is  another  sulphuret  of  iron,  which 
contains  about  40  per  cent,  of  sulphur  and  60  per  cent,  of 
iron.  It  is  abundant,  though  not  so  much  so  as  the  common 
pyrites. 

Leucopyrite,  an  arseniuret  of  iron,  and  MispicJcel,  a  sulph- 
arseniuret  of  the  same  metal,  are  found  in  numerous  locali- 
ties ;  the  latter  frequently  contains  cobalt  enough  to  be  of 
value  as  an  ore  of  this  metal,  but  neither  this  nor  the  other 
can  be  considered  ores  of  iron. 

Schreibersite,  or  phosphuret  of  iron,  is  found  only  in  me- 
teorites. 

COMBINED   WITH  OXYGEN. 

Specular  Iron,  Peroxide  of  Iron,  Micaceous  Iron  Ore,  Red 
Hematite,  Fer  Oligiste,  Red  Ochre.  This  is  an  oxide  of  iron 
with  two  atoms  of  iron  and  three  of  oxygen.  When  pure,  it 
consists  of  iron  70,  and  oxygen  30  per  cent.  It  is  a  widely 
diffused  species,  and  presents  itself  in  a  great  variety  of  forms, 
and  has  received  a  great  number  of  names.  These  varieties 
may  be  classed  under  two  heads,  the  crystalline  and  the 
amorphous.  Specular  iron,  which  often  occurs  in  fine  crys- 
tals, is  at  one  end  of  the  list,  and  red  chalk  at  the  other. 
Specular  iron  includes  specimens  of  a  perfect  metallic  lustre ; 
if  in  fine  scales,  it  is  called  micaceous  iron ;  the  varieties 
which  have  only  a  slightly  metallic  lustre,  with,  generally,  a 
fibrous  structure,  are  called  hematite ;  the  soft  and  earthy 
varieties  are  called  ochre.  This  ore  occurs  in  immense 
abundance  and  purity,  and,  if  these  were  the  only  requisites, 
would  furnish  the  larger  part  of  the  iron  of  commerce ;  but 
in  respect  to  a  metal  whose  elaboration  requires  such  an 
amount  of  fuel,  and  whose  transportation  in  proportion  to  its 
cost  is  so  expensive,  there  are  many  other  circumstances  to 


428  ORES    OF    IRON. 

be  taken  into  consideration  besides  quality  and  quantity  of 
ore.  At  Gellivara,  in  Sweden,  an  immense  mountain  of  this 
ore  exists,  which  has  never  been  touched  for  manufacturing 
purposes,  and  which  probably  will  not  be  for  a  great  while 
to  come. 

This  ore  frequently  contains  in  combination  titanic  acid, 
in  varying  proportions,  the  peroxide  of  iron  and  titanic  acid 
being  isomorphous.  A  variety  of  names  have  been  given 
to  these  combinations.  Titanic  acid  in  any  considerable 
quantity  renders  the  substance  valueless  as  an  ore. 

Magnetic  Iron  Ore,  Magnetite,  Magnetic  Oxide  of  Iron.  A 
combination  of  the  protoxide  and  the  peroxide,  with  72-4  of 
iron  and  27' 6  of  oxygen.  It  is  the  native  magnet  or  load- 
stone, and  is  widely  diffused  in  nature,  though  not  so  widely 
as  the  peroxide.  It  furnishes  an  unrivalled  ore.  From  specu- 
lar it  differs  in  its  crystalline  form,  in  being  magnetic,  and 
in  giving  a  black  powder  instead  of  a  red  one. 

Frariklinite.  This  is  an  ore  of  iron  containing  zinc  and 
manganese ;  it  may  be  considered  as  magnetic  iron  ore  in 
which  a  part  of  the  protoxide  is  replaced  by  the  protoxides  of 
zinc  and  manganese,  and  the  peroxide  by  the  oxide  of  man- 
ganese. It  may  be  considered  both  as  an  ore  of  iron  and  of 
zinc.  It  is  only  found  in  ISTew  Jersey,  where  it  has  just  begun 
to  be  worked  for  both  metals. 

Chromic  Iron,  Chromate  of  Iron.  Valuable  as  an  ore  of 
chrome. 

Limonite,  Brown  Hematite,  Brown  Ochre,  Bog  Iron  Ore, 
Iron-stone,  Yellow  Clay  Iron-stone.  Under  all  these  names 
is  understood  a  hydrated  peroxide  of  iron,  which,  when 
chemically  pure,  contains  85-58  peroxide  of  iron  and  14-42 
water.  The  purer  varieties  contain  from  60  to  62  per  cent, 
of  metallic  iron  ;  but  this  ore  is  almost  always  mixed  with 
more  or  less  earthy  matter.  Brown  hematite  is  the  name 
given  to  the  compact  and  pure  varieties,  which  have  often  a 
mammillary  or  stalactitic  structure.  The  ochrey  ores,  brown 
ochre,  yellow  ochre,  and  the  like,  are  earthy  decomposed 
varieties ;  bog  iron  ore  is  a  porous  aggregate,  usually  occur- 
ring in  low  ground,  as  a  recent  deposit  from  the  decomposi- 
tion of  other  ores.  Yellow  clay  iron-stone  is  the  same,  mixed 


GEOLOGICAL    POSITION.  429 

with,  argillaceous  matter.  This  ore  forms  the  coloring  matter 
of  so  many  stratified  rocks,  and  is  so  universally  disseminated 
through  the  geological  formations,  that  it  is  more  difficult  to 
say  where  it  does  not  exist,  than  where  it  does. 

Grdthite,  Lepidocrocite.  This  is  a  hydrated  oxide  of  iron, 
like  limonite,  but  differing  in  the  proportions  of  its  ingredi- 
ents. It  is  comparatively  rare,  and  cannot  be  called  an  ore. 


SILICATES. 


The  number  of  silicates  into  which  iron  enters  as  an  ingre- 
dient is  great,  and,  as  they  have  little  or  no  value  as  ores, 
they  must  be  passed  over  here. 

CABBONATES,   PHOSPHATES,   ABSENIATES. 

Of  these  combinations  the  variety  is  very  great,  but  only 
one  is  important  as  an  ore,  that  is — 

Spathic  Iron,  Sparry  Iron,  Brown-spar,  Clay  Iron-stone. 
This  is  a  carbonate  of  iron,  with  carbonic  acid  37*94  and 
protoxide  of  iron  62-06.  It  is  almost  never  found  pure,  but 
contains  manganese,  and  generally  more  or  less  alumina, 
lime,  and  magnesia.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important 
ore  of  iron ;  not  generally  in  its  sparry  state,  but  as  a  mix- 
ture with  clay  and  the  hydrated  oxide  which  results  from  its 
decomposition,  and  constituting  a  part  of  the  great  carboni- 
ferous formation ;  hence,  occurring  with  the  coal  required 
for  its  reduction,  it  becomes  of  great  importance. 

The  arseniates  and  phosphates  are  not  ores ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  are  highly  injurious  to  the  quality  of  those  with 
which  they  are  found  occurring. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION. — The  immense  number  of  the  de- 
posits of  iron  ores  found  in  every  part  of  the  world,  renders 
it  impossible  to  attempt  anything  like  a  detailed  description 
even  of  the  most  important  of  them  ;  volumes  would  be  re- 
quired for  this  subject  alone.  Under  the  head  of  each  coun- 
try will  therefore  be  given  only  such  statistics  as  may  enable 
the  reader  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  comparative  import- 
ance of  the  production  of  this  metal  in  various  regions  and 
under  varying  circumstances,  with  allusions  to  such  features 


430  ORES    OF    IRON    IN    THE    AZOIC. 

in  the  manufacture  as  may  appear  to  be  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance to  be  specially  dwelt  upon. 

In  order,  however,  to  give  as  complete  a  picture  as  possible 
of  this  all-important  metal,  it  is  proposed  to  discuss  with 
some  detail  the  geological  position  and  mode  of  occurrence 
of  its  ores,  and  reference  will  be  made  for  illustration  to  the 
most  important  iron-producing  districts  throughout  the  world. 

At  first  sight,  considering  the  immense  number  and  variety 
of  the  deposits  of  iron  ore,  it  might  seem  as  if  they  hardly 
admitted  of  being  classified  into  distinct  divisions  ;  a  farther 
consideration,  however,  will  show  that  there  are  two  modes 
of  occurrence  which  are  entirely  distinct  from  each  other, 
and  whose  difference  affects  the  mode  of  manufacture,  the 
quality  of  the  metal  produced,  and  its  quantity.  These  main 
divisions  may  be  again  divided  up  into  characteristic  sub- 
groups, each  of  which  has  its  special  character  and  economi- 
cal importance. 

In  order  to  exhibit  this  clearly,  the  following  scheme  is 
presented  for  a  classification  of  the  ores  of  iron,  with  refer- 
ence to  their  geological  position  : — 

A.  In    mountain  masses,  eruptive  or  metamorphic,  in  the 

DIVISION  i.        )  azoic  sys  em> 

<   B.  Eruptive  masses  in  the  newer  formations. 

C.  In  the  metamorphic  and  palaeozoic,  at  segregated  masses, 
or  in  veins. 

C  a.  Not  associated  with 
A.  Masses  interstratmed  with  the    \ 

)  coal, 

formations,    up    to   the    ter-    <    ,     . 

)  o.  Associated  with  the 

DIVISION  II.        I  £  coal-measures. 

Stratified  ores.      A  Tertiary  ores. 

1  B.  Deposits    in    the   tertiary   and 

„     .  ,  -  -I     b.  Recent     ores,    bog 

alluvial  formations. 

^  ores. 

UNSTRATIFIED    ORES — IN   THE   AZOIC. 

The  masses  of  ore  in  the  azoic,  though  developed  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  made  up  of  purer  ores,  than  those  occupy- 
ing any  other  geological  position,  are  not  economically  so 
important  as  those  which  occur  in  stratified  deposits  in  con- 
nection with  the  coal.  The  ores  found  in  this  group  are  the 
oxides,  specular  ore,  and  magnetic  ore.  "When  associated 


SWEDISH    IRON    ORES. 


431 


with  foreign  matter,  this  is  almost  invariably  of  a  silicious 
nature,  quartz  in  some  form ;  but  they  are  generally  quite 
pure,  often  approaching  a  state  of  chemical  purity.  They 
are  particularly  valuable  as  being  more  likely  to  be  free  from 
arsenic,  phosphorus,  and  sulphur,  which  have  an  injurious 
effect  on  the  quality  of  iron,  than  any  other  ores. 

The  ores  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  which  furnish  so  large 
a  portion  of  the  iron  used  for  conversion  into  the  finer  quali- 
ties of  steel,  belong  chiefly  to  this  class  of  deposits. 

The  following  scheme  of  their  mode  of  occurrence  is  given 
by  Durocher,  who  has  published  a  very  detailed  and  careful 
description  of  the  metalliferous  deposits  of  Scandinavia. 


DIVISION    I. 

Deposits  in  the  azoic 
system  (gneiss  and 
argillaceous  shales). 


A.  Deposits  of  pure  mag- 
netic oxide. 


B.  Specular  iron,  some- 
times pure,  and  some- 
times mixed  with 
magnetic  iron. 


a.  In  gneiss  alone,  or  ac- 
companied by  granite, 
and  in  the  allied  slates, 
talcose,  chloride,  and 
micaceous. 

6.  In  hornblende  rocks,  in- 
tercalated in  the  gneiss. 

In  gneiss  and  associated 
quartzose  and  micaceous 
slates. 


C.  Magnetic  oxide,  in  the  argillaceous  shales. 

The  remaining  ores,  which  are  comparatively  of  little 
importance,  consist  of  masses  of  magnetic  and  rarely  of 
specular  ore,  near  the  contact  of  the  palaeozoic  rocks  and  the 
granite,  and  bog  ore,  forming  deposits  in  low  ground  and 
swamps. 

The  azoic  series  in  Sweden  and  Norway  is  made  up  prin- 
cipally of  a  crystalline,  granitic  gneiss,  presenting  an  almost 
infinite  succession  of  feldspathic,  quartzose,  micaceous,  and 
hornblendic  laminae,  and  often  cut  through  and  disturbed  by 
dykes  of  greenstone  and  granite.  The  researches  of  Mur- 
chison  and  Verneuil  show  conclusively  that  these  rocks  had 
taken  their  present  form  before  the  deposition  of  the  Lower 
Silurian  strata.  There  are  several  localities  where  the  mag- 
netic oxide  occurs  nearly  pure  and  without  gangue.  Of  this 
the  mine  of  Bispberg  furnishes  a  good  example.  It  has  the 


432      MODE    OF    OCCURRENCE    OF    SWEDISH    ORES. 

form  of  a  lenticular  mass,  and  its  longest  axis  coincides  with 
the  direction  of  the  schistose  structure  of  the  slates  in  which 
it  is  enclosed.  The  mines  of  Danemora  are  in  a  ferriferous 
hand  of  ahout  600  feet  in  width  and  7000  in  length.  In  the 
neighborhood,  gneiss  is  the  prevailing  rock;  but  in  the 
immediate  proximity  of  the  mines,  the  rock  exposed  is  a 
grayish  limestone,  slightly  magnesian,  accompanied  by  tal- 
cose  and  chloritic  slates,  which  probably  are  subordinate  to 
the  gneiss.  The  deposits  of  iron  form  imperfectly  cylindrical 
masses,  with  their  axes  nearly  vertical,  and  their  bases  much 
elongated  in  the  direction  of  the  schistose  structure  of  the 
rock. 

The  mines  of  Uto,  which  are  especially  interesting  to  the 
'  mineralogist  on  account  of  the  variety  of  minerals  containing 
lithia  which  are  found  there,  are  of  considerable  importance. 
The  ore  is  principally  the  specular  oxide  mixed  with  the 
magnetic.  It  is  in  the  form  of  lenticular  masses  enclosed  in 
micaceous  slates  and  quartz  rock.  At  the  point  of  contact 
of  the  ferriferous  mass,  the  quartzose  beds  predominate,  and 
the  silica  is  often  impregnated  with  and  colored  by  the  iron. 
The  principal  deposit  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
across  its  widest  part,  forming  an  enormous  lenticular  mass, 
of  an  irregular  contour,  and  with  a  vertical  axis. 

At  Gellivara  the  magnetic  oxide  forms  a  mountain  mass 
three  or  four  miles  in  length  and  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width, 
a  great  portion  of  which  is  very  pure,  some  parts  of  it  con- 
taining specular  ore  mixed  with  magnetic.  The  principal 
reasons  why  this  enormous  mass  has  not  been  worked  to  any 
considerable  extent  are  its  remoteness  from  navigable  waters, 
and  its  very  high  northern  latitude  (67°). 

These  deposits  are  called,  in  Sweden  and  Norway,  veins, 
but  they  differ  materially  in  character  from  what  is  generally 
understood  by  true  veins.  With  a  few  exceptions,  they 
appear  to  have  been  deposited  in  the  midst  of  schistose  or 
massive  rocks,  in  forms  which  approach  more  nearly  to  beds, 
or  elongated  bands,  and  irregular  masses ;  and  they  have  evi- 
dently not  filled  previously-existing  fissures  which  cross  the 
strata  at  an  angle,  but  almost  uniformly  coincide,  in  the 


ORES    OF    NEW    YORK  —  LAKE    SUPERIOR.          433 

direction  of  their  greatest  elongation,  with  the  strata  of  the 
schistose  rock. 

The  micaceous  specular  ores  are  generally  associated  with 
the  quartzose  and  mica  slates,  and  but  rarely  with  the  calca- 
reous rocks.  When  there  is  calcareous  matter  near  the 
junction  of  the  ore  and  the  enclosing  rock,  there  is  a  great 
variety  of  minerals  in  the  gangue,  indicating  that  they  were 
formed  under  certain  conditions  by  the  metamorphic  action 
of  the  ferriferous  mass  upon  the  adjacent  rocks.  The  mine 
of  Hassel,  in  Norway,  offers  a  good  instance  of  the  tendency 
of  the  specular  ore  to  associate  itself  with  the  quartzose  and 
slaty  rocks.  The  deposit  is  not  a  vein,  but  rather  a  series  of 
slaty  beds,  impregnated  with  peroxide  of  iron  to  the  amount 
of  twenty  or  thirty  per  cent. 

There  can  be  no  finer  instances  of  the  mode  of  occurrence 
now  under  discussion  than  are  to  be  found  in  this  country. 
The  mountain  masses  of  Missouri  have  pre-eminently  the 
eruptive  character,  and  are  associated  with  rocks  which  have 
always  been  considered  as  of  unmistakably  eruptive  origin. 
The  iron  region  of  Lake  Superior,  which  is  even  more 
extensive  and  more  abundant  in  ores  than  that  of  Missouri, 
is  another  instance  of  the  vast  development  of  these  ores 
in  the  azoic. 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  same  geological  posi- 
tion, we  find  the  same  occurrence  of  the  specular  and  mag- 
netic oxides,  and  almost  rivalling  with  those  of  the  regions 
just  mentioned  in  magnitude  and  importance.  Here,  how- 
ever, the  evidences  of  direct  eruptive  origin  are  perhaps 
less  conspicuous,  and  the  deposits  seem,  in  many  cases  at 
least,  to  exhibit  the  appearance  of  a  secondary  action  having 
taken  place  since  their  original  formation.  In  this  region, 
these  ores  have  in  their  mode  of  occurrence  the  most  striking 
analogy  with  those  of  Scandinavia.  Like  them,  they  gene- 
rally coincide  in  the  direction  of  their  greatest  development 
with  the  line  of  strike  of  the  rocks  in  wThich  they  are  en- 
closed, forming  lenticular  or  flattened  cylinder-shaped  masses 
intercalated  in  the  formation.  The  enclosing  rocks  are 
similar  in  character  to  those  of  Sweden;  they  are  gneiss, 
quartzose,  and  hypersthenic  rocks.  The  deposits  of  these 

28 


434  IRON    ORES    IN    THE    AZOIC. 

ores  will  be  noticed  more  particularly  farther  on,  under  the 
head  of  each  state. 

Although  the  iron  ores  of  the  azoic  have  not  always  had 
a  purely  igneous  origin,  yet  even  in  those  cases  where  they 
bear  the  most  evident  marks  of  having  been  deposited  in 
beds  parallel  with  the  formation,  with  the  presence  of  water, 
we  must  acknowledge  that  pre-existing  eruptive  masses  may 
have  furnished  the  material  from  which  they  were  derived. 
That  the  azoic  period  was  one  of  long-continued  and  violent 
action  cannot  be  doubted,  and  while  the  deposition  of  the 
stratified  beds  was  going  on,  volcanic  agencies,  combined 
with  powerful  currents,  may  have  abraded  and  swept  away 
portions  of  the  erupted  ferriferous  masses,  rearranging  their 
particles  and  depositing  them  again  in  the  depressions  of  the 
strata.  This  seems  the  most  probable  origin  of  some  of 
these  lenticular  beds  of  ore  parallel  with  the  stratification, 
where  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  fissure  always  coinciding 
with  the  line  of  strike  of  the  formation,  and  where  the  me- 
chanical evidences  are  wanting  of  the  thrusting  up  of  such 
masses  of  matter,  which  we  know  could  not  have  taken 
place  without  many  dislocations  of  the  surrounding  rocks 
which  would  have  made  themselves  very  apparent. 

The  masses  of  iron  ore  in  the  azoic  are  far  more  grand  in 
their  scale  of  development  than  in  any  other  formation,  cha- 
racterizing it  everywhere  as  the  age  of  iron ;  a  fact  which 
has  a  high  degree  of  significance,  when  we  consider  that 
this  is  the  oldest  geological  formation,  and  that  we  thus,  as 
it  were,  receive  a  hint  as  to  the  structure  of  the  interior  of 
the  earth.  In  this  connection,  it  will  be  remembered  that 
the  bodies  of  extra-terrestrial  origin  which  fall  upon  the 
earth,  or  meteorites,  are  very  often  found  to  consist  of  me- 
tallic iron,  and  we  are  thus  led  directly  to  infer  the  existence 
of  vast  masses  of  metallic  iron  within  the  interior  of  the 
globe. 

The  evidences  of  eruptive  masses  of  iron  ore  grow  fainter 
as  we  ascend  in  the  scale  of  formations,  or  recede  from  the 
focus  of  internal  heat;  but,  nevertheless,  the  ferriferous 
emanations  from  volcanoes  still  in  action,  as  well  as  the  un- 
deniable upheaval  of  oxydized  iron  from  tfye  interior  of  the 


IN    MORE    RECENT    FORMATIONS.  435 

earth  during  comparatively  recent  periods,  show  that  there 
are  still  supplies  of  the  same  material  accessible,  which  are 
not  below  the  depth  at  which  chemical  action  is  still  going 
on  and  making  itself  sensible. 

ERUPTIVE   MASSES    IN   FORMATIONS    MORE    RECENT   THAN   THE    AZOIC. 

The  magnetic  iron  ore  hill  near  Kijny  Tagilsk,  which  is 
extensively  wrought,  affords  a  fine  illustration  of  an  erup- 
tive mass  in  the  midst  of  sedimentary  formations.  There  are 
numerous  points  of  eruptive  rocks,  mostly  hornblendic 
greenstone,  among  stratified  masses,  which  have  been  highly 
metamorphosed  in  their  vicinity.  The  age  of  the  sedimentary 
beds  is  referred  by  Murchison  to  the  Upper  Silurian,  al- 
though the  fossils  are  mostly  obliterated  by  the  metamorphic 
action.  These  limestones  appear  to  have  been  rent  in  twain 
by  a  narrow  ridge  of  intrusive  greenstone,  which  rises  to  the 
north  of  Nijny  Tagilsk  into  a  high  hill  (Vissokaya-gora),  on 
the  summit  and  flanks  of  which  iron  ore  has  long  been  ex- 
tracted. The  chief  mass  of  the  ore  is  seen  to  occupy  the 
valley  on  the  western  side  of  the  hill,  where  it  has  been 
deeply  cut  into  by  open  quarries,  and  is  found  to  consist  of 
an  enormous  body  of  ore,  rudely  bedded  and  traversed  by 
numerous  joints,  and  exposed  for  a  height  of  a  hundred  feet 
and  a  length  of  several  hundred.  In  opening  out  the  side  of 
the  valley  nearest  to  the  hill  of  greenstone,  irregular  knobs 
or  points  of  rocks  were  met  with,  on  stripping  which  it  was 
found  that  the  iron  ore  had  accommodated  itself  to  the  irregu- 
larities of  their  surface,  and  that  at  such  points  of  contact, 
the  ore  was  not  only  harder  and  more  crystalline  than  usual, 
but  also  much  more  magnetic  than  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  greenstone. 

The  rock  associated  with  the  magnetic  iron  ore  of  Mount 
Blagodat,  near  Kuschwinsk,  which  has  been  worked  since 
1730,  is  a  feldspathic  augite  porphyry.  So  far  as  they  have 
been  worked  down,  the  excavations  exhibit  a  continuous 
mass  of  fine-grained  magnetic  iron  ore,  with  flakes  of  yellow 
and  pink  feldspar  and  brown  mica.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Col. 
Helmersen,  who  has  carefully  studied  this  locality,  that  these 
feldspathic  iron-stone  masses  are  portions  of  dykes  of  erup- 


436  IRON    ORES    OF    THE    URAL  —  ELBA. 

tive  character  which  have  traversed  the  porphyry,  a  fragment 
of  that  rock  even  having  been  found  in  one  of  them  which 
rises  up  from  near  the  base  of  the  hill. 

The  Katschkanar,  one  of  the  loftiest  and  most  rugged 
summits  of  the  Ural,  is  made  up  of  igneous  rocks  (green- 
stone), having  a  bedded  structure  and  traversed  by  regular 
joints,  so  as  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  sedimentary  rock ; 
it  is  cut  through  by  courses  of  magnetic  iron  ore,  and  has 
an  abundance  of  the  same  substance  diffused  through  it  in 
crystals ;  but  the  ore  is  hard  and  intractable,  and  being  at 
one  of  the  most  inaccessible  points  of  the  Ural,  the  works 
which  were  commenced  there  are  now  abandoned. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  from  the  consideration  of  all  the 
phenomena  of  these  localities,  that  the  ores  are  of  purely 
eruptive  origin,  and  that  they  have  played  the  same  part  as 
the  igneous  greenstones  and  porphyries  with  which  they  are 
associated.  At  Nijny  Tagilsk,  it  is  evident  that  the  mag- 
netic iron  penetrated  the  pre-existing  greenstone,  and  flowed, 
as  sub-marine  lava  or  volcanic  mud,  into  the  contiguous  de- 
pressions. This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  ore  expands 
in  width,  thickness,  and  dimensions,  as  it  is  traced  into  the 
lower  parts  of  the  valley,  precisely  as  a  lava  stream  which 
fills  up  the  sinuosities  of  the  subjacent  rock.  Such  was  the 
opinion  of  Helmersen,  and  it  was  adopted  by  Murchison, 
although  not  agreeing  with  his  preconceived  theories. 

The  iron  mines  of  Elba,  which  are  celebrated  alike  for  the 
length  of  time  they  have  been  worked  and  for  the  purity  and 
beauty  of  their  ores,  furnish  another  interesting  example  of 
the  class  of  eruptive  masses  associated  with  the  more  modern 
rocks.  The  metalliferous  deposits  of  the  island  are  mostly 
•concentrated  towards  its  eastern  extremity,  and  are  associated 
with  serpentine.  The  sedimentary  rocks  in  that  vicinity 
have  been  metamorphosed  and  intermingled  with  serpentine, 
:so  as  to  give  rise  to  an  abundance  of  beautifully  variegated 
marble.  The  mass  of  specular  ore  worked  near  Eio  is  in- 
•cluded  between  the  upturned  slates  which  form  the  flank  of 
the  Mountains  of  St.  Catherine.  It  has  all  the  appearance  of 
having  been  forced  from  below  upwards  through  the  strata, 
which  are  highly  metamorphosed  at  the  contact  of  the  ferri- 


VEINS  IN  THE  METAMORPHIC  ROCKS.      437 

ferous  mass,  and  into  which  the  metallic  emanations  have 
penetrated  in  every  direction.  As  a  proof  of  this,  it  may  be 
observed  that  the  attendant  minerals  vary  with  the  adjacent 
strata.  In  the  quartzose  slates,  crystallized  quartz  predomi- 
nates; in  the  calcareous  strata,  actinolite  and  yenite  have 
been  developed. 

The  mass  of  magnetic  ore  and  hematite  of  Monte  Calamita 
is  more  extensive  than  that  of  Eio,  and  exhibits  even  more 
clearly  the  phenomena  of  igneous  action.  It  has  uplifted  the 
superincumbent  strata,  and  produced  on  them  all  the  effects 
of  metamorphism  due  to  igneous  action.  For  instance,  the 
compact  limestone  which  lies  adjacent  to  the  ferriferous 
mass  is  changed  into  a  saccharoidal  dolomite,  and  along  the 
line  of  contact  silicates  of  lime,  magnesia,  and  iron  have 
been  developed.  According  to  Burat,  the  whole  appearance 
of  the  mass  is  that  of  an  immense  wedge  driven  upwards 
from  below  into  the  calcareous  and  schistose  rocks,  produc- 
ing all  the  effects  to  be  expected  from  the  intrusion  of  such 
a  mass  by  igneous  agency. 

The  geological  age  of  the  strata  which  have  been  thus 
metamorphosed  by  the  ferriferous  masses,  is  considered  by 
Burat  to  be  near  the  Jurassic,  but  the  introduction  of  the 
metallic  matter  itself  probably  took  place  at  a  much  later 
period,  perhaps  after  the  deposition  of  the  chalk. 

SEGREGATED    MASSES   AND  VEINS   IN   THE   PALAEOZOIC   ROCKS,  GENERALLY 
METAMORPHIC. 

Deposits  of  this  class  are  widely  scattered  over  the  world, 
and  frequently  developed  on  a  grand  scale,  though  not  so 
much  so  as  those  in  the  azoic.  The  more  extensively  meta- 
morphosed the  formation,  and  the  older  it  is,  the  more  do 
the  deposits  of  iron  ore  take  on  the  character  of  true  veins. 
The  spathic  ore  is  one  of  the  most  abundant  in  this  position, 
forming  often  veins  of  great  extent,  and  furnishing  large 
quantities  of  a  material  eminently  calculated  for  making  good 
iron  and  steel.  The  interesting  vein  of  this  ore  at  Roxbury, 
Connecticut,  may  be  noticed  as  a  good  example  of  the  class. 
Veins  and  vein-like  masses  of  the  same  ore,  and  similar  in 
position,  occurring  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  furnish  the 


438  STRATIFIED    ORES    OF    IRON. 

material  to  the  numerous  manufactories  of  steel  of  that 
region. 

Veins  of  magnetic  iron  ore  are  also  frequently  found  oc- 
curring in  this  position.  In  this  country  they  are  especially 
numerous.  They  are  generally  segregated  masses  lying  in 
the  direction  of  the  stratification.  Sometimes  they  are  quite 
pure,  being  mixed  only  with  a  little  silicious  matter ;  at  other 
times  they  are  associated  with  other  metalliferous  minerals. 
Occasionally  the  iron  ore  is  found,  as  the  depth  increases,  to 
he  replaced  in  part  by  ores  of  copper.  In  the  Southern  States, 
the  occurrence  of  gold  with  ores  of  iron  is  very  frequent,  but 
the  latter  are  too  much  mixed  with  pyrites  to  be  of  any 
value  apart  from  the  gold  which  they  contain. 

In  the  carboniferous  limestone  of  England  there  are  nu- 
merous deposits  of  hematite  of  great  importance,  some  of 
which  are  intermediate  in  character  between  veins  and  beds, 
while  others  appear  to  occupy  previously-formed  fissures, 
and  to  belong  to  the  class  of  gash-veins,  the  ferriferous  mat- 
ter having  been  deposited  in  them  from  above.  In  general, 
the  kind  of  ore-deposits  now  under  consideration,  when  not 
associated  with  crystalline  rocks,  are  not  distinctly  marked 
in  their  characters,  but  seem  to  form  a  connecting  link 
between  the  stratified  and  unstratified  masses. 


STRATIFIED    ORES    OF    IRON. 


The  stratified  ores  of  iron  are  distinguished  from  the  un- 
stratified by  their  earthy  character;  they  are  very  rarely 
crystalline  in  their  structure,  and  consequently  are  less 
pure  than  the  crystallized  "mountain  ores."  This  lower 
percentage  of  iron  which  they  contain  is  more  than  com- 
pensated, however,  by  the  superior  facility  of  raising  the 
ore,  and  its  easier  working  in  the  furnace,  aside  from 
another  all-important  consideration,  that  of  the  proximity  of 
coal.  Probably  five-sixths  of  the  iron  of  the  world  is  made 
from  ores  of  this  class.  They  are  interstratified  and  contem- 
poraneous with  the  rocks  in  which  they  occur,  and  are  found 
in  all  geological  positions,  from  the  very  lowest  upwards,  and 
are  forming  even  now  under  our  own  eyes.  For  practical 
purposes,  this  class  of  stratified  ores  may  be  divided  into  two 


STRATIFIED    ORES.  439 

groups,  which  are  quite  distinct  from  each  other  in  some 
important  respects :  these  are,  ores  in  the  solid  rock,  and 
ores  in  the  superficial  formations,  or  alluvial  ores.  The  first 
group,  that  of  stratified  ores  in  the  solid  rock,  may  be 
divided  into  two  important  sub-groups :  1st.  Ores  not  asso- 
ciated with  the  coal ;  2d.  Ores  associated  with  the  coal- 
measures. 

The  sub-group  of  stratified  ores  in  non-carboniferous  rocks 
has  been  hitherto  considered  of  comparatively  little  impor- 
tance, but  the  deposits  of  this  class  are  of  immense  extent, 
and  must  eventually  be  worked  much  more  largely  than  at 
present.  They  exist  in  the  Silurian  system,  where  it  has  not 
been  metamorphosed,  in  the  form  of  oolitic  argillaceous 
masses.  Examples  of  this  class  may  be  seen  in  numerous 
localities  in  the  Western  United  States,  where  the  Silurian 
and  other  infra-carboniferous  groups  are  in  an  unaltered 
condition.  In  Europe,  as  a  general  thing,  these  groups  have 
been  so  much  altered  that  the  iron  ores  wilich  they  contain 
can  hardly  be  recognized  in  their  original  character  of  sedi- 
mentary deposits.  In  the  West,  these  deposits  are  likely  to 
be  of  great  importance  at  some  future  day,  since  the  coal- 
measures  proper  are  not  rich  in  iron  ores. 

In  the  stratified  rocks  lying  immediately  below  the  coal, 
the  deposits  of  iron  ore  in  England  are  very  extensive ;  the 
most  important  of  them  are  those  of  Lancashire,  Cumber- 
land, and  the  Forest  of  Dean,  all  of  which  are  in  the  carbo- 
niferous or  mountain  limestone  formation.  These  deposits 
were  worked  very  extensively  before  the  use  of  coal  w^as 
introduced.  The  ores  consist  principally  of  hematites  or 
compact  red  oxide ;  those  of  the  Forest  of  Dean  occupy  a 
regular  position  in  the  limestone,  but  are  themselves  exceed- 
ingly irregular,  assuming  rather  the  character  of  a  series  of 
chambers  than  of  a  regular  bed.  These  chambers  are  some- 
times of  great  extent,  and  contain  many  thousand  tons  of 
ore,  which  is  generally  raised  at  a  very  low  cost,  since  no 
timbering  is  required.  The  iron  made  from  these  ores  is 
red-short,  and  from  its  superior  quality  commands  a  high 
price.  The  hematites  of  Whitehaven  and  Ulverstone  are  of 
great  importance,  since  they  exist  in  large  quantity,  and  are 


440  STRATIFIED   ORES   NOT    IN   THE   COAL-MEASURES. 

the  best  ores  raised  in  England.  They  are,  in  their  mode 
of  ocurrence,  of  a  somewhat  singular  character,  since  they 
occur  sometimes  in  vein-like  masses  transverse  to  the  strati- 
fication, and  sometimes  in  irregular  beds,  which  occasion- 
ally attain  the  thickness  of  20  or  30  feet.  The  ores  contain 
from  65  to  95  per  cent,  of  peroxide  of  iron,  the  impurities 
being  chiefly  alumina  and  silica,  with  a  little  manganese. 
Nearly  500,000  tons  of  this  kind  of  ore  were  raised  in  1851. 

Brown  hematites  are  another  important  class  of  ores 
occurring  in  a  similar  position.  There  are  large  deposits  of 
this  ore  in  the  "Western  States,  in  strata  about  the  age  of  the 
Upper  Helderberg  Limestone.  Some  of  the  lead  veins  in  the 
carboniferous  limestone  district  of  England  are  associated 
with  very  large  masses  of  brown  hematite.  They  usually 
contain  from  20  to  40  per  cent,  of  iron :  sometimes  they 
exist  as  "riders"  to  the  veins,  sometimes  they  form  their 
entire  mass,  and  even  in  this  case  attain  a  thickness  of  from 
20  to  50  yards;  sometimes  they  form  distinct  and  regular 
beds.  In  the  localities  of  Alston  Moor  and  its  vicinity,  the 
quality  of  the  iron  produced  does  not  stand  high :  it  has  too 
great  a  tendency  to  cold-shortness.  In  this  country,  how- 
ever, the  ores  are  found  of  sufficient  purity  to  produce  a 
very  excellent  quality  of  iron.  They  are  invariably  found  to 
contain  manganese,  sometimes  in  considerable  quantity. 

The  Jurassic  or  Oolitic  group  furnishes  many  important 
deposits  of  iron  ore.  Throughout  the  formations  between 
the  Lias  and  the  coal-measures,  namely  the  Triassic  and 
Permian  groups,  or  the  Old  and  ISTew  Red  Sandstones,  per- 
oxide of  iron  is  diffused  almost  universally  as  a  coloring 
matter,  tinging  them  red,  and  the  whole  amount  thus  pre- 
sent in  these  sandstones  is  enormous,  but  it  is  not  usually 
concentrated  into  workable  masses.  Burat,  in  noticing  this 
fact,  considers  it  due  to  the  violent  agitation  which  seems  to 
have  prevailed  during  the  formation  and  deposition  of  these 
conglomerates  and  coarse  sandstones.  The  fact  seems  to  be 
indisputable,  that  concentration  of  the  ores  of  iron  has  only 
taken  place  when  the  deposits  were  of  a  fine  material,  indi- 
cating a  long  period  of  repose  and  tranquil  deposition. 

The  ores  in  the  groups  above  the  carboniferous  do  not 


IN    THE    OOLITE.  441 

in  this  country  possess  any  considerable  degree  of  impor- 
tance, the  formations  being  too  little  developed.  In  Europe, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  are  not  without  interest.  The 
Jurassic  formation  furnishes  the  larger  portion  of  the  ores 
smelted  in  Southern  France.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
deposits  of  this  class  is  the  mine  of  La  Voulte,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Ardeche.  Here  are  three  beds  of  red  oxide  of 
iron,  varying  from  3  to  15  feet  in  thickness,  and  opened  on 
for  an  extent  of  two-thirds  of  a  mile  ;  they  are  interstratified 
with  marls,  and  contain  the  same  fossils,  of  the  age  of  the 
Lias,  or  perhaps  of  the  Oxford  clay.  The  three  subdivi- 
sions of  the  Oolite  contain  contemporaneous  deposits  of 
hematite  and  brown  hematite  scattered  through  them.  The 
ores  are  sometimes  compact,  and  sometimes  have  an  oolitic 
or  pisolitic  structure,  the  ore  taking  the  same  structure  as 
the  rock  which  encloses  it.  Besides  the  interstratified  de- 
posits, there  are  large  masses  of  ore  filling  cavities  or  long 
winding  fissures,  in  which  they  seem  to  have  been  deposited 
by  water  holding  iron  in  solution. 

The  ores  in  this  geological  position  in  England  have  only 
very  recently  become  of  any  importance.  They  are  found 
at  the  base  of  the  Oolite,  as  it  crops  out  along  an  extensive 
line  stretching  from  the  River  Tees  through  the  midland 
counties  down  to  the  south  coast.  But  for  this  discovery, 
some  of  the  principal  iron-works  of  the  North  of  England 
must  have  been  closed,  as  the  cheap  black-bands  of  Scotland 
had  destroyed  the  value  of  the  comparatively  expensive 
argillaceous  iron-stones  of  the  Newcastle  coal-fields.  These 
ores,  on  the  contrary,  cropping  out  on  the  surface,  could  be 
mined  at  a  very  small  expense,  and  new  railroads  are  build- 
ing to  furnish  access  to  them,  and  they  will  eventually 
become  of  great  importance.  They  are  of  an  extremely 
varied  character,  containing  hydrated  peroxide  and  carbo- 
nate of  iron,  associated  with  carbonate  of  lime,  silica, 
alumina,  a  little  manganese,  and  traces  of  phosphoric  acid. 
The  amount  of  metallic  iron  present  in  them  varies  from  20 
to  55  per  cent. 

The  beds  of  argillaceous  iron  ores  in  the  Lias  are  worked 
to  some  extent  near  "Whitby  and  Lyme  Regis. 


442  IROX    ORES    IN    THE    COAL-MEASURES. 

The  ores  of  the  cretaceous  formation  are  not  of  much 
importance.  Those  of  the  Greensand  and  Wealden  in 
England  were  worked  to  a  considerable  extent  before  the 
use  of  coal  for  smelting.  They  are  generally  not  rich.  In 
France  they  are  worked  on  a  small  scale  in  the  Bas  Boulon- 
nais.  In  the  cretaceous,  as  well  as  the  other  sedimentaiy 
formations,  the  ores  of  iron  are  chiefly  concentrated  near  the 
bottom  or  the  top  of  the  group,  especially  where  the  beds 
are  thick  and  homogeneous.  If  found  in  the  central  por- 
tions of  such  beds,  it  is  principally  when  occupying  water- 
worn  cavities  and  winding  fissures.  The  chalk,  notwith- 
standing its  immense  thickness,  is  almost  destitute  of  iron, 
except  occasional  nodules  of  sulphuret,  which  seem  to  have 
been  concentrated  around  organic  matter. 

IRON    ORES    ASSOCIATED   WITH    THE    COAL-MEASURES. 

"We  come  now  to  a  class  of  ores  of  surpassing  importance, 
and  in  which  England  and  the  United  States  are  pre-emi- 
nently rich,  ores  associated  with  coal,  or  in  the  coal- 
measures  ;  in  both  these  countries  the  larger  part  of  the  iron 
smelted  is  from  this  source.  It  is  to  the  abundance  of  her 
coal-measure  iron-stones  that  England  is  indebted  for  her 
vastly  preponderating  production  of  this  metal,  and  it  is 
thus  that  she  has  been  able  to  supply  the  rapidly-increasing 
demand  for  railway  iron,  which  the  discovery  of  a  new 
means  of  national  intercommunication  rendered  necessary. 
The  coal  fields  of  North  and  South  Wales,  North  and  South 
Staffordshire,  Derbyshire,  Yorkshire,  and  Scotland,  while 
they  furnished  fuel  to  smelt  the  ore,  furnished  the  ore  itself 
and  the  necessary  flux  from  the  same  shaft,  with  hardly  any 
increased  expense  beyond  what  it  would  have  cost  to  raise 
the  coal  alone. 

There  are  two  distinct  classes  of  ore  associated  with  the 
coal-measures,  the  argillaceous  iron-stones  and  the  black- 
band  ore.  Of  these,  the  latter  may  be  considered  as  of  quite 
modern  use,  and  is  especially  developed  in  Scotland.  In 
this  country  it  is  as  yet  hardly  known.  The  usual  chemical 
form  of  the  ore  in  the  argillaceous  iron-stones  of  the  coal- 
measures  is  that  of  a  carbonate.  Besides  the  carbonate, 


IRON    ORES    IN    THE    COAL.  443 

they  contain  often  a  little  peroxide  of  iron  and  manganese ; 
these  are  mixed  with  varying  proportions  of  clay  and  sand, 
or  silica  and  silicate  of  alumina,  carbonates  of  lime  and 
magnesia,  and  usually  a  small  amount  of  sulphuric  and  a 
little  phosphoric  acid.  The  ores  of  this  country  have  not 
generally  been  carefully  enough  examined  with  reference 
to  these  ingredients,  but  they  are  probably  almost  always 
present,  although  often  only  in  minute  traces.  The  usual 
form  of  these  ores  is  that  of  small  nodules,  of  an  earthy 
texture,  having  little  of  a  metallic  look  about  them.  They 
are  interstratified  in  beds  with  the  shales  and  coal. 
The  number  of  repet^ions  of  iron-stone  beds  in  a  single 
coal-basin  is  frequently  very  considerable.  In  the  South 
Welsh  coal-field  there  are  seven  distinct  districts,  which 
contain  respectively  6,  9,  16,  12,  10,  17,  22,  beds  of  iron- 
stone, and  many  of  these  individual  series  are  themselves 
divided  into  several  distinct  courses.  These  beds  of  ore 
usually  maintain  about  the  same  position  in  reference  to  the 
beds  of  coal  throughout  each  basin.  They  are  not  usually 
very  thick,  and  this  is  the  greatest  drawback  to  their  value. 
Sometimes  they  consist  of  a  single  layer  of  spheroidal  con- 
cretions, or  balls  of  all  sizes,  up  to  a  ton  or  more  in  weight. 
The  amount  of  iron  which  they  contain  is  not  usually 
more  than  from  30  to  33  per  cent.,  though  they  some- 
times rise  as  high  as  40.  In  England  they  are  rarely  used 
when  they  fall  below  25  per  cent.  The  quality  of  the  iron 
produced  from  them  is  various,  according  to  the  locality  and 
composition  of  the  ore,  the  skill  of  the  iron-master  in  work- 
ing them  or  mixing  them  with  other  ores,  and  the  quality  of 
the  coal  with  which  they  are  smelted.  In  many  of  the 
English  iron-works  where  these  ores  are  exclusively  used, 
the  produce  of  iron  is  of  a  good  quality,  neither  cold-short  nor 
red-short  in  undue  degree,  although  there  is  always  a  ten- 
dency to  one  or  the  other  of  these  qualities.  In  this  country 
the  iron  produced  from  them  is  very  various  in  its  quality. 
Some  of  it  is  very  inferior. 

In  France,  the  iron  ores  accompanying  the  coal  are  limited 
in  quantity,  and  inferior  to  those  of  England,  a  great  draw- 
back to  its  prosperity.  In  the  coal-field  of  St.  Etienne  the 


444  TERTIARY    ORES. 

iron-stones  are  hardly  worthy  of  notice.  That  of  St.  Aubin 
is  best  supplied  with  iron  ores,  which  occur  in  nodules  dis- 
seminated in  the  slate  adjacent  to  the  coal.  These  two  coal- 
basins  are  the  only  ones  in  France  which  contain  iron  enough 
to  be  worth  working. 

The  black-band  ores  are  exclusively  worked  in  England ; 
they  exist  in  our  own  coal-fields,  but  have  not  yet  begun  to 
be  worked  to  any  extent.  They  differ  from  the  argillaceous 
ores  principally  in  containing  a  considerable  proportion  of 
carbonaceous  matter,  sometimes  amounting  to  20  or  25  per 
cent.  "When  calcined,  they  lose  a  large  part  of  their  weight, 
generally  as  much  as  one-half,  and  art  then  very  rich  in  iron. 
Mushet's  Black-band  contained,  according  to  Dr.  Col- 
quhoun's  analysis — 

Carbonic  acid, 35- 17 

Protoxide  of  iron, 53  03 

Lime, 3'33 

Magnesia,  ........  1'77 

Silica, 1-40 

Alumina,    ........  *G3 

Peroxide  of  iron, -23 

Bituminous  matter,      ......  3'03 

Moisture  and  loss, 1-41 


100-00 

The  iron  produced  from  this  class  of  ores  has  a  decided 
tendency  to  cold-shortness,  owing,  probably,  to  the  phos- 
phoric acid  which  they  contain.  The  principal  localities 
where  they  are  found  in  Great  Britain,  are  in  Northumber- 
land, North  and  South  Wales,  North  Staffordshire,  and 
Scotland  ;  of  these,  the  two  latter  are  much  the  most  impor- 
tant. The  principal  Scotch  black-bands  are  two,  known  as 
Mushet's  and  Crofthead. 

IRON  ORES  IN  THE  TERTIARY  AND  ALLUVIAL. 

The  ores  in  this  position  are  of  minor  importance ;  but 
nevertheless,  they  form  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  iron- 
making  resources  of  some  countries.  Lying  near  the  surface, 
and  being  easily  recognized  and  cheaply  excavated,  they  are 
often  worked,  and  sometimes  worked  out,  before  attention 


TERTIARY    ORES    OF    FRANCE.  445 

is  directed  to  the  ores  which  are  less  superficial  in  their  oc- 
currence. They  frequently  produce  an  excellent  quality  of 
iron,  and  work  easily  in  the  furnace. 

In  England,  the  ores  of  this  class  have  very  little  import- 
ance. In  France,  they  are  more  largely  developed,  and,  in 
the  general  scarcity  of  good  ores  in  that  country,  are  worked 
to  a  considerable  extent.  The  deposits  of  Beriy,  especially 
those  in  the  valley  of  the  Cher,  are  in  the  tertiary,  and  con- 
sist of  pisolitic  ores,  disseminated  in  beds  in  the  argillaceous 
slates.  Through  the  northeastern  part  of  France,  in  the  de- 
partments where  wood  is  abundant,  as  in  Ardennes  and 
Marne,  the  extent  to  which  the  tertiary  and  alluvial  ores  are 
used  is  very  great.  Burat  notices  the  following  localities 
where  their  working  is  principally  developed  :  1.  The  coun- 
try between  the  Sambre  and  the  Moselle,  which  furnishes 
ores  for  the  furnaces  of  Ardennes,  the  Meuse,  and  the  Mo- 
selle. They  consist  of  hydrated  oxides,  disseminated  through 
sands  overlying  strata  of  Jurassic  age.  The  beds  of  Saint- 
Pancr6  and  Aumetz  furnish  ores  of  superior  quality.  2.  The 
Bas-Khin,  the  larger  portion  of  whose  ores  occur  in  clays  and 
alluvial  sands,  and  consist  of  impure  earthy  carbonate,  and 
tertiary  deposits  which  have  been  washed  away  from  their 
original  position.  3.  The  superficial  ores  of  the  Jura,  scat- 
tered over  the  surface  and  in  the  depressions  of  the  lime- 
stone. These  are  often  found  in  winding,  cave-like  excava- 
tions in  the  strata,  which  communicate  with  the  surface  by 
vertical  columns  of  ore,  apparently  filling  the  orifices  through 
which  the  ore  was  originally  introduced  into  the  cavity.  4. 
Oolitic  and  pisolitic  ores  of  alluvial  formation  in  the  Mver- 
nais.  5.  Hydrated  oxides  and  hematites,  in  the  superficial 
clays  of  the  Charente,  Dordogne,  Lot-et-Garonne,  Lot,  and 
Tarn-et-Garonne.  These  are  of  very  considerable  importance, 
being  of  good  quality,  and  sufficiently  pure  to  be  worked  in 
the  Catalan  forges.  The  excavations  are  mostly  open  to  the 
clay,  and  descend  to  a  depth  of  between  60  and  70  feet.  6. 
The  sartdy  alluvia  of  the  Landes  contain  deposits  of  hydrated 
oxide  and  bog  ore,  which  are  worked  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent. Burat  estimates  that  one-third  of  the  production  of 
iron  in  France  is  derived  from  alluvial  ores. 


446  IRON    IX    FOREIGN    COUNTRIES. 

In  this  country  ores  of  this  class  are  abundant,  and  arc 
worked  in  numerous  localities,  often  furnishing  iron  of  a 
very  superior  quality.  The  best  deposits  are  probably  in  the 
tertiary ;  the  true  bog  ores  are  of  less  importance.  The  for- 
mation of  this  latter  class  is  one  which  is  constantly  going 
on  where  ores  of  iron  are  decomposing.  The  resulting 
hydrated  oxide  of  iron  accumulates  in  low  grounds,  and  is 
frequently  found  spread  over  them  to  the  depth  of  from  a 
few  inches  to  several  feet.  The  bog  ores  have  been  worked 
to  some  extent  in  the  New  England  States,  but  are  now  of 
little  consequence.  In  some  of  the  Western  States  they  are 
abundantly  distributed,  and  may  eventually  furnish  an  im- 
portant supply  of  metal. 


SECTION  II. 

STATISTICS    OF   IRON   IN    FOREIGN    COUNTRIES. 

RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. — The  erection  of  the  first  iron  furnace 
in  Russia  is  said  to  date  back  to  1623.  The  want  of  means 
of  internal  communication  is  a  great  drawback  to  the  deve- 
lopment of  this  branch  of  the  mineral  industry  of  the  em- 
pire. It  appears  from  official  data  that,  taking  the  mean 
of  the  six  years  previous  to  1844,  and  the  six  succeeding 
that  year,  the  annual  production  was  as  follows : — 

1838-1844.  1844-1850. 

Pig  iron,     ....     109,000  tons.  188,300  tons. 

Wrought  iron,     .     .     111,650    «  124,300    " 

Which  shows  an  increase  of  only  11J  per  cent,  in  the  last 
period  of  six  years.  The  dearness  of  iron  in  many  parts  of 
the  interior  renders  it  difficult  to  carry  on  the  simple  opera- 
tions of  agriculture,  and  there  are  whole  districts  where  the 
shoeing  of  horses  and  the  use  of  iron  instruments  for  culti- 
vating the  ground  are  unknown.  The  production  of  this 
indispensable  metal  has  not  even  kept  pace  with  the  increase 
of  population. 

The  present  production  of  the  empire  may  be  estimated 
at  200,000  tons  of  pig  ifon,  of  which  about  three-fourths  is 


STATISTICS    OF    SWEDISH    IRON.  447 

worked  into  wrought  iron.  Poland  furnishes  about  one- 
tenth  of  the  whole  production. 

SCANDINAVIA. — The  very  interesting  deposits  of  iron  ores 
in  Sweden  have  been  noticed  in  the  preceding  section.  The 
quality  of  the  iron  made  is  the  best  known,  and  it  is  prin- 
cipally exported  to  England  and  there  worked  up  into  steel, 
mostly  in  Sheffield  and  its  vicinity.  The  furnaces  which 
produce  iron  for  exportation  use  the  best  qualities  of  ore, 
and  bestow  a  special  care  on  its  manufacture.  Charcoal  is 
exclusively  used.  The  mine  of  Danemora  produces  about 
one-twelfth  of  the  iron  of  Sweden. 

From  the  latest  official  returns,  it  appears  that  there  had 
hardly  been  any  increase  in  the  production  of  iron  in  Sweden 
between  1840  and  1850.  The  present  production  is  about 
150,000  tons  of  pig  and  100,000  tons  of  bar  iron. 

The  exportation  of  wrought  iron  has  been  as  follows : — 

Tons. 

1834-38, av.  79,300 

1839-43, "  89,200 

1844-48, «  92,000 

1849, 88,500 

It  is  principally  sent  to  four  different  countries,  in  the  fol- 
lowing proportions : — 

Tons. 

Great  Britain, 33,300 

United  States, 19,850 

Denmark, 8,150 

France, 5,200 

Besides,  a  small  quantity  of  cannon,  bomb-shells,  &c.,  are 
sent  to  Norway,  Holland,  and  Denmark.  The  number  of 
blast-furnaces  in  1850  was  220  ;  of  workmen  employed  in 
mining  the  ore,  5241 ;  at  the  blast-furnaces  and  foundries, 
3096 ;  at  the  wrought  iron  establishments,  3983. 

Korway  produces,  from  magnetic  iron  ore,  about  5000 
tons  of  pig  iron,  of  which  about  two-thirds  is  worked  up 
into  wrought  iron,  and  one-third  consumed  in  castings. 

G  HEAT  BRITAIN. — Singular  as  it  may  appear  in  respect  to 
a  country  whose  prosperity  is  based  on  its  coal  and  iron,  and 


448       IRON    MANUFACTURE    OF    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

which  extracts  from  the  earth  more  of  each  of  those  prime- 
movers  of  civilization  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  put 
together,  it  is  only  very  recently  that  anything  approaching 
to  a  complete  idea  of  its  resources  has  been  obtained.  That 
a  tolerably  compendious  account  can  now  be  given  of  the 
iron  manufacture  of  England  is  due  to  the  Great  Exhibition, 
and  the  enterprise  of  a  private  individual,  S.  H.  Blackwell, 
Esq.,  who  made  a  collection  of  English  iron  ores,  gathered 
statistics  with  regard  to  them,  and  embodied  them  in  the 
Official  Catalogue,  and  in  a  lecture  "  On  the  Iron-making 
Resources  of  the  United  Kingdom,"  delivered  before  the 
Society  of  Arts  in  London. 

From  this  source,  and  from  a  report  on  the  iron  trade  of 
Great  Britain,  made  to  the  British  Association,  in  1847,  by 
G.  R.  Porter,  whose  authority  on  these  subjects  is  of  great 
weight,  the  following  abstract  has  been  compiled. 

The  history  of  the  iron  manufacture  of  Great  Britain  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  commenced  with  the  discovery  of  the 
use  of  mineral  coal  as  a  fuel  for  smelting  the  ores,  so  great 
has  been  its  progress  since  that  time.  Still,  the  great  abun- 
dance of  localities  in  which  ore  is  found  gave  an  importance 
to  the  production  of  iron  by  charcoal  so  long  as  this  kind  of 
fuel  lasted.  In  1615,  there  were  a  large  number  of  furnaces 
at  work,  producing,  as  was  estimated,  nearly  180,000  tons 
per  annum.  This  was  the  maximum  production  of  charcoal 
iron.  Owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  forests  consequent  on 
so  large  a  demand  for  charcoal,  the  produce  of  iron  fell  off 
gradually,  and  had,  in  1T40,  declined  to  17,350  tons,  the 
product  of  fifty-nine  furnaces. 

The  first  attempts  to  smelt  iron  with  mineral  coal  are  said 
to  have  been  made  as  early  as  1620 ;  but  they  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  successful,  as  it  was  not  until  1740  that  the  use 
of  this  fuel  can  be  said  to  have  become  introduced  to  any 
extent,  and  for  many  years  from  that  time  it  advanced  but 
slowly. 

In  1788,  the  whole  quantity  of  pig  iron  made  in  England 
and  Wales  is'  said  to  have  amounted  to  no  more  than  61,300 
tons,  of  which  quantity  48,200  tons  were  made  with  coke  of 
pit-coal,  and  the  remaining  13,100  tons  were  still  made  with 


GREAT    BRITAIN.  449 

charcoal.  In  the  same  year,  the  production  in  Scotland  did 
not  exceed  7000  tons.  In  Ireland  charcoal  iron  was  made 
on  a  moderate  scale  during  the  17th  century,  and  in  1672 
the  quantity  amounted  to  1000  tons ;  but,  as  the  timber  was 
exhausted,  it  gradually  declined,  and  in  1788  there  was  not 
an  iron-work  in  Ireland. 

About  this  time  the  iron-masters  in  Great  Britain  began 
to  avail  themselves  of  Watt's  improvements  of  the  steam- 
engine  ;  and  they  were  thus  enabled  greatly  and  rapidly  to 
increase  the  productive  power  of  their  works,  so  that,  in 
eight  years  from  1788,  the  quantity  of  British-made  iron  was 
nearly  doubled.  An  inquiry  made  in  1796,  consequent  upon 
the  proposal  of  Mr.  Pitt,  which  was  afterwards  abandoned, 
to  put  a  tax  upon  coal  at  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  showed  the 
make  of  British  iron  to  be  then — 

In  England  and  Wales,  ....         108,993  tons. 
In  Scotland, 16,086 


125,079 

Ten  years  later,  in  1806,  it  was  proposed  to  tax  the  pro- 
duction of  iron ;  and  again,  on  that  occasion,  the  amount 
was  ascertained  to  be — 

In  England  and  Wales, 234,960  tons. 

In  Scotland, 23.240 


258,206 

Of  this  quantity,  about  95,000  tons  were  converted  into 
bars  and  plates,  and  the  capital  invested  amounted  to 
£5,000,000. 

The  next  account  of  this  manufacture  was  prepared  by 
Mr.  Francis  Finch,  and  has  reference  to  1823,  when  the  pro- 
duction was  ascertained  to  be  452,066  tons ;  in  1830  it 
amounted,  on  the  same  authority,  to  678,417  tons. 

From  this  time  forward  began  a  new  era  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  iron,  caused  by  the  introduction  of  the  hot  blast,  the 
discovery  of  Mr.  !N~eilson,  of  Glasgow,  wrho  patented  it  in 
1829.  The  plan  was  adopted  in  Scotland  in  1830,  and  its 
effects  were  most  extraordinary,  reducing  the  quantity  of 

29 


450  IRON    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

coal  used  in  the  furnace  from.  7  tons  per  ton  of  iron  produced 
to  2,  and,  in  some  instances,  1J  tons,  rendering  it  possible 
to  use  the  black-band  ores  exclusively.  By  this  improve- 
ment, the  quantity  of  iron  made  in  that  district  was  increased 
from  20,000  tons  in  1820,  and  37,500  tons  in  1830,  to  200.000 
in  1839,  and  in  12  years  after  to  775,000  ;  as  Mr.  Blackwell 
remarks,  the  most  wonderful  increase  of  production  in  any 
branch  of  manufactures  which  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

The  use  of  the  hot  blast  gradually  spread  from  Scotland 
into  the  other  iron-making  districts,  effecting  in  all  a  most 
important  economy  of  coal  and  limestone,  especially  in  the 
anthracite  district  of  South  "Wales.  One  of  its  consequences 
was  the  enlargement  in  size  of  the  blast  furnaces,  which  has 
been  found  materially  to  increase  production  and  economize 
fuel. 

This  invention,  all-important  as  it  was  to  the  interest  of 
Great  Britain,  was  not  accepted  without  much  opposition, 
and  for  a  long  time  many  of  the  most  eminent  engineers  posi- 
tively forbade  the  use  of  hot-blast  iron  for  any  w^orks  in 
which  they  were  engaged ;  but  at  the  present  time  more 
than  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  iron  manufactured  in  Great 
Britain  is  made  with  hot-blast.  As  Mr.  Porter  remarks, 
^"but  for  the  introduction  of  the  hot-blast,  we  should  in  all 
likelihood  not  have  witnessed  the  unequalled  development 
exhibited  during  the  past  fifteen  years  in  this,  which  has  now 
become  one  of  the  greatest  branches  of  our  national  in- 
dustry. "Without  this  discovery  our  railroad  system  could 
not  have  marched  forward  with  such  giant  strides,  and  in  all 
probability  the  application  of  iron  to  the  building  of  ships — 
.an  application  from  the  extension  of  which,  in  future  years, 
:so  many  advantages  may  be  made  to  arise,  might  have  con- 
tinued unthought  of." 

The  introduction  of  the  black-band  ore  formed  another 
important  addition  to  the  resources  of  England  in  the  ma- 
nufacture of  iron.  This  was  first  discovered,  so  long  ago  as 
1801,  by  Mr.  David  Mushet,  but  for  many  years  it  was  ex- 
clusively used  in  the  works  of  Mr.  Mushet  himself,  and 
there,  even,  in  combination  with  other  ores  of  argillaceous 
character.  It  was  not  until  1825  that  it  was  first  used  alone, 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  IRON  TRADE.      451 

by  the  Monkland  Company,  whose  success  in  the  experi- 
ment led  gradually  to  its  adoption  by  other  establishments, 
and  to  the  erection  of  additional  works. 

Mr.  Mushet,  in  his  "  Papers  on  Iron  and  Steel,"  thus  de- 
scribes the  advantages  of  this  kind  of  ore :  "  Instead  of  20, 
25,  or  30  cwts.  of  limestone,  formerly  used  to  make  a  ton  of 
iron,  the  black-band  now  requires  only  6,  7,  or  8  cwts.  to  the 
production  of  a  ton.  This  arises  from  the  extreme  richness 
of  the  ore  when  roasted,  and  from  the  small  quantity  of 
earthy  matter  which  it  contains,  which  renders  the  operation 
of  smelting  the  black-band  with  hot  blast  more  like  the 
smelting  of  iron  than  the  smelting  of  an  ore.  When  pro- 
perly roasted,  its  richness  ranges  from  60  to  70  per  cent.,  so 
that  little  more  than  a  ton  and  a  half  is  required  to  make  a 
ton  of  pig  iron  ;  and  as  one  ton  of  coal  will  smelt  one  ton 
of  roasted  ore,  it  is  evident  that,  when  the  black-band  is 
used  alone,  35  cwts.  of  raw  coal  will  suffice  to  the  produc- 
tion of  one  ton  of  good  gray  pig  iron."  In  corroboration 
of  these  results,  it  appears  that  to  make  400,400  tons  of  iron 
in  Scotland,  it  required  934,266  tons  of  coal,  or  a  little  over 
2  tons  6  cwt.  for  each  ton  of  iron. 

According  to  M.  Le  Play,  who  made  a  thorough  inspec- 
tion of  all  the  iron-works  in  Great  Britain,  the  produce  in 
1836  amounted  to  1,000,000  tons,  which  had .  increased  in 
1839  to  1,248,781  tons,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Mushet. 

The  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway, 
which  took  place  in  July  1830,  may  be  said  to  have  com- 
menced a  new  era  for  the  iron  interests  of  Great  Britain,  for 
from  that  time  forward  a  demand  was  created  for  this  metal 
for  a  hitherto  unknown  purpose  on  a  scale  of  immense  mag- 
nitude. The  development  of  the  railway  system  of  England 
went  on  with  rapid  steps,  and  in  1836  and  1837  Parliament 
passed  77  railway  bills,  of  which  44  were  for  new  lines,  and 
the  capital  authorized  to  be  raised  amounted  to  more  than 
£36,000,000.  The  lines  thus  sanctioned  would  demand  for 
their  construction  over  500,000  tons  of  iron,  and  the  natural 
effect  of  this  stimulus  was  to  advance  the  price  of  this  metal, 
at  the  same  time  largely  increasing  its  production,  as  we 
have  seen  above.  Such  an  immense  expansion  must  natu- 


452  STATISTICS  or  BRITISH  IRON. 

rally  be  followed  by  a  depression,  and  a  variety  of  causes 
tended  to  produce  a  commercial  stagnation,  which  pressed 
heavily  upon  the  iron  interest  from  1839  to  1844.  Prices 
fell  to  half  what  they  had  been  during  the  height  of  the  rail- 
way speculations,  and  the  iron-masters  were  obliged  to  reduce 
their  production  as  much  as  possible.  In  1840,  it  appeared 
from  Mr.  "William  Jessop's  researches  that  the  produce  of 
iron  amounted  to  about  1,400,000  tons,  but  in  1842  it  had 
fallen  off  22  per  cent,  in  the  principal  districts,  and  the  whole 
production  of  the  kingdom  probably  did  not  exceed  1,000,000 
tons,  or  the  same  amount  which  was  made  in  1886. 

This  period  of  depression  could  not  last  for  many  years, 
and  since  1845,  when  prices  rose  again  rapidly,  the  produc- 
tion of  the  English  and  Scotch  furnaces  has  gone  on  in- 
creasing with  but  little  fluctuation.  In  1847  and  1848  the 
amount  had  risen  to  2,000,000  tons,  and  in  1851  it  made  a 
greater  advance  than  ever  before,  rising  to  2,500,000  tons. 
Of  this  enormous  quantity  South  Wales  produced  upwards 
of  750,000;  Scotland,  775,000;  South  Staffordshire  and 
Worcestershire,  nearly  600,000 ;  and  the  other  districts  about 
400,000  tons.  Of  this  total  it  was  estimated  that  about  one- 
third  was  converted  into  castings  or  exported  as  pigs ;  and 
two-thirds  manufactured  into  wrought  iron.  In  1852,  the 
production  was  2,701,000  tons. 

It  is  probable  that  the  amount  produced  in  1854  will  not 
fall  below  3,000,000  tons. 

The  importance  of  the  iron  trade  to  England  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  following  returns  of  the  exports  of  iron  of  all 
kinds  in  1850  and  1851 : — 

Year.  Est.  No.  of  Tons.  Declared  Value. 

1850,  .         .         .         1,122,084         .         .         .        £9,507,108 

1851,  .         .         .         1,290,873         .         .         .         10,424,137 

The  annexed  tabular  statement  shows  the  estimates  for 
various  periods  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
according  to  the  best  authorities : — 


IRON    IN    BELGIUM. 


453 


Tons. 

1802, 170,000 

1SOG, 258,000 

182  3, 452,000 

1S25, 581,307 

1828, 702,584 

1830, 078,417 

1S30, 1,000,000 


•  Tons. 

1839, 1,250,000 

1840, 1,400,000 

1842 1,000,000 

1847, 1,999,008 

1848, 2,093,736 

1851, 2,500,000 

1852, 2,701,000 


BELGIUM. — The  Belgian  iron-works  have  reached  a  high 
degree  of  perfection  in  respect  to  economical  employment 
of  materials  and  skilful  arrangement  of  machinery.  The 
coals  of  that  country  are  of  excellent  quality  for  smelting 
purposes,  especially  in  the  blast-furnace ;  but  in  the  province 
of  Liege,  the  chief  seat  of  the  iron  manufacture,  the  exploita- 
tion of  the  coal  is  attended  with  some  difficulties,  which 
render  its  cost  higher  than  that  of  the  English.  The  ores 
are  of  pretty  high  percentage,  although  they  require  wash- 
ing, which  is  very  simply  and  easily  effected,  and  the  facili- 
ties of  transport  are  admirable. 

In  1844  there  were  80  blast-furnaces  using  charcoal  in 
existence,  of  which  26  were  in  blast,  and  51  using  coke,  23 
of  which  were  in  blast.  The  charcoal-furnaces  are  of  small 
dimensions,  but  produce  a  good  quality  of  iron,  the  quantity 
of  which  is  constantly  diminishing,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of 
that  kind  of  fuel.  The  coke-furnaces  are  generally  of  large 
size,  worked  with  a  high  pressure  of  blast,  and  give  a  high 
yield  of  iron,  which  averages  100  tons  per  week  of  white 
iron,  for  refining,  or  75  tons  of.  gray  foundry  pig. 

In  1844  the  produce  of  pig  iron  amounted  to  106,878  tons, 
seventeen-twentieths  of  which  was  from  furnaces  using  coke. 
In  1845  there  were  in  operation  44  blast-furnaces  using  coke, 
and  the  total  produce  of  the  kingdom  was  220,000  tons. 
The  production  continued  to  increase  until  1848. 

The  coke-furnaces  are  divided  into  three  groups.  That  of 
the  river  Maas  is  the  most  extensive,  and  comprehends, 
among  others,  the  celebrated  establishment  of  Seraing,  where 
six  blast-furnaces  of  very  large  dimensions,  with  puddling- 
furnaces,  &c.,  are  erected,  together  with  immense  machine 
and  locomotive  building  establishments. 

The  wrought  iron  is  mostly  puddled,  and  amounted  in 


454  IRON    IN    PRUSSIA. 

1844  to  46,913  tons.  For  the  later  years  statistics  cannot  be 
given  for  the  whole  country ;  but  in  the  province  of  Liege, 
in  1851,  the  production  of  pig  iron  amounted  to  65,000  tons, 
the  capacity  of  the  furnaces  being  about  100,000.  The 
quantity  of  wrought  iron  produced  in  the  same  district  was 
in  1849  only  19,000  tons ;  but  it  had  increased  in  1850  to 
20,000  or  25,000,  and  was  in  1851  about  the  same. 

On  the  whole,  the  Belgian  establishments  are  admirably 
arranged,  and  might  furnish  a  much  larger  quantity  of  iron 
than  they  now  produce ;  but  they  are  hemmed  in  on  every 
side  by  almost  prohibitory  duties,  and  the  greater  cost  of 
raising  their  coal  renders  it  impossible  for  them  to  compete 
with  England  in  supplying  the  United  States  with  their 
products. 

PRUSSIA. — The  manufacture  of  iron  in  this  country  is  of 
great  importance.  The  principal  works  are  in  the  provinces 
of  Upper  Silesia  and  the  Rhine.  The  government  owns 
and  manages  some  of  the  most  important,  which  are  intended 
as  models  for  imitation  by  others,  and  into  which  the  new 
improvements  are  introduced  to  be  tried. 

The  production  of  iron  had  rapidly  increased  up  to  1847, 
when,  owing  to  various  political  causes,  and  to  the  completion 
of  the  great  system  of  Prussian  railways,  it  decreased  some- 
what for  two  or  three  years.  In  1851,  however,  it  amounted 
to  145,000  tons  of  pig  iron,  a  quantity  greater  than  that  pro- 
duced in  1847  by  nearly  10,000  tons. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount,  in  tons  and  per- 
centage, furnished  by  each  of  the  great  mining  districts  into 
which  Prussia  is  divided,  for  the  year  1847. 

,..   .       -p..      .  Castings  from 

PlSlr01U  the  furnace.  TotaK  Per  eellt- 

Brandenburg, 784  784  O6 

Silesia, 43,885  7,185  51,073  39'G 

Saxony, 4,214  527  4.741  37 

Westphalia, 2,153  7,103  9.250  7-2 

Rhine, 54,326  8,604  62,930  489 


104,581  24,203  128,784         100-0 

AUSTRIA. — The  most  extensive  iron-works  of  the  Austrian 
Empire   are  in   Styriafthe  product  of  whose  furnaces  is 


OTHEK    GERMAN    STATES. 


455 


mostly  converted  into  steel  of  an  excellent  quality.  The 
ores  are  chiefly  spathic  iron.  The  furnaces  used  are  the 
German  Blaubfen. .  Carniola  and  Carinthia  also  furnish 
large  quantities  of  iron,  a  very  considerable  portion  of  which 
is  converted  into  steel :  the  blast  furnaces  at  Lolling  are 
models  of  economy  in  respect  to  fuel,  consuming  only  from 
50  to  70  Ibs.  of  charcoal  in  the  production  of  100  Ibs.  of  pig 
metal. 

The  following  table  shows  the  yield  of  the  different  pro- 
vinces, for  the  year  1847,  in  pig  iron  and  castings  direct 
from  the  blast  furnace : — 


Province. 

Pig  Iron. 

Castings 
from  furnace. 

Total. 

Per  cent. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Styria,     

.     40,480 

1,430 

47,910 

24-3 

Carinthia  and  Carniola, 

.     30,340 

1,300 

37,040 

19- 

Tyrol,      

3,345 

000 

3,945 

2* 

Lower  Austria,      .     .     . 

.       1,570 

1,570 

•8 

Salzburg,      .     .     .     .     . 

.       2,790 

180 

2,970 

15 

Lombardy,  

.       0,320 

1,040 

7,360 

3-7 

Bohemia,      

19,000 

9,870 

29,470 

149 

Moravia  and  Silesia, 

.     16,160 

8,180 

24,340 

12-3 

Hungary, 

33,300 

2,705 

30,005 

18-3 

Transylvania.  .... 

1,270 

75 

1,345 

•7 

Gallicia,  

3,575 

1,200 

4,835 

2-4 

Military  frontier,  .     .     . 

250 

SCO 

•1 

171,000 


20,700 


197,700  100-0 


SAXONY. — This  state  produced  in  1851  nearly  7000  tons  of 
pig  iron,  of  which  about  6000  was  worked  into  bar.  The 
quantity  has  remained  nearly  stationary  for  the  last  few 
years. 

BRUNSWICK. — The  iron-works  of  this  state  are  of  some 
importance.  They  are  estimated  as  producing  about  4000 
tons  of  pig  iron  annually,  of  which  about  half  is  converted 
into  wrought  iron,  and  the  other  half  employed  in  castings. 
The  most  important  furnaces  are  in  the  Harz. 

HANOVER.  —  The  production  of  this  kingdom  is  about 
7000  tons  yearly,  mostly  from  iron-works  in  the  Harz 
district. 

OTHER  GERMAN  STATES.— Of  these  the  whole  production 


456  IRON    IN    FRANCE. 

amounted  in  1847  to  about  60,000  tons,  a  small  amount 
compared  with  the  yield  of  the  English  furnaces,  but  suffi- 
cient to  supply  the  home  consumption.  Baden  produced  in 
1847  about  7500  tons  of  pig  iron,  and  2000  of  castings,  and 
made  nearly  the  same  amount  of  wrought  iron  from  home- 
manufactured  and  imported  pig  iron. 

Wurtemberg  furnishes  about  6000  tons.  Nassau  is  rich  in 
deposits  of  iron  ore,  and  its  produce  of  metal  is  very  con- 
siderable, considering  the  insignificant  extent  of  the  Duchy. 
The  amount  in  1847  was  15,000  tons  of  pig,  most  of  which 
is  made  into  wrought  iron.  The  yield  of  Bavaria  is  small 
for  a  kingdom  of  its  size,  being  about  the  same  as  that  of 
Xassau.  The  other  smaller  states,  in  regard  to  their  produc- 
tion of  iron,  are  of  little  importance. 

FRANCE. — The  geological  position  and  the  character  of 
the  iron  ores  of  this  country  have  already  been  sufficiently 
described.  It  remains  to  give  some  statistics  of  the  yield  of 
metal.  It  may  be  said  with  truth,  that  the  circumstances 
under  which  iron  is  manufactured  in  France  are  not  favora- 
ble to  the  development  of  this  branch  of  her  industry,  and 
it  is  only  by  the  aid  of  a  high  protective  tariff  that  the  pro- 
duction has  been  raised  to  its  present  amount,  making  her, 
next  after  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  the  greatest 
iron-producing  country  in  the  world.  Were  the  markets 
of  France  freely  opened  to  Belgian  and  English  iron,  her 
production  of  this  metal  would  sink  to  comparative  insig- 
nificance. 

The  amount  of  pig  iron  produced  in  1849,  the  last  year 
for  which  accurate  returns  have  been  obtained,  was  514,172 
tons. 

Very  extensive  changes  have  recently  been  made  in  the 
French  tariff,  by  which  a  considerable  reduction  is  already 
effected  of  the  duties  previously  levied  on  coal  and  iron. 
In  1855  a  still  farther  reduction  will  take  place,  when 
pig  iron  will  pay  only  <£!  15s.  4d.  per  ton,  instead  of  £2 
16s.  8c?.,  which  had  formerly  been  charged.  Bar  iron,  for- 
merly admitted  at  from  .£6  12s.  to  £8  4s.  per  ton,  according 
to  its  size,  will  then  be  charged  only  £4  Ss.  to  £6  3s.  These 
changes  will,  no  doubt,  add  largely  to  the  consumption  of 


IN    THE    UNITED     STATES.  457 

English  and  Belgian  iron  and  coal,  and  give  a  new  impetus 
to  the  manufacture  of  machinery  and  the  use  of  this  metal 
in  France. 

SPAIN. — The  latest  accounts  give,  as  the  yield  of  the 
Spanish  iron-works,  14,000  tons  of  pig,  and  15,500  tons  of 
har  iron,  entirely  produced  by  Catalonian  furnaces  direct 
from  the  ore.  Portugal  produces  the  insignificant  amount 
of  300  tons,  by  the  same  process. 

ITALY. — Tuscany. — In  this  country  the  iron-works  are 
managed  with  skill,  and  produce  about  7500  tons. 

Sardinia. — Estimated  production  11,000  tons;  and  the 
Roman  territory,  together  with  the  kingdom  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  may  be  put  at  4000  tons. 

SWITZERLAND*. — The  Swiss  iron-works  are  in  the  Cantons 
of  Berne,  Solothurn,  Sehaffhausen,  St.  Gallen,  Grisons,  and 
the  Yalais.  There  were  in  1847  twelve  blast-furnaces  in 
operation,  producing  about  14,500  tons  of  pig  iron,  most  of 
which  was  worked  into  bar  iron  for  home  consumption. 


SECTION  III. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE   ORES   OF   IRON    IN   THIS   COUNTRY. 

UNDER  this  head,  it  will  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
different  localities  of  iron  ore  with  anything  like  the  same 
detail  which  has  been  thought  necessary  in  treating  of  the 
other  metals.  The  ores  of  iron  are  so  widely  distributed 
throughout  the  United  States,  that,  even  were  it  possible  to 
obtain  accurate  information  concerning  them  in  all  cases, 
want  of  space  would  prevent  its  being  incorporated  into 
this  work.  Besides,  the  mere  fact  of  the  existence  of  deposits 
of  these  ores,  even  although  they  may  be  of  the  greatest 
purity  and  existing  in  the  greatest  abundance,  is  not  by  any 
means  sufficient  to  enable  one  to  pronounce  on  their  real 
value.  In  the  manufacture  of  iron  there  are  many  other 
questions  besides  quality  and  quantity  of  the  ore  to  be  taken 
into  consideration,  such  as  the  cost  and  nature  of  the  fuel 
to  be  employed,  the  facilities  for  procuring  the  proper  flux, 


458  IRON    IN    MAINE. 

and  the  accessibility  of  the  locality.  And  besides  these, 
there  is  the  great  question  of  the  cost  of  labor,  which,  as 
connected  with  protection  and  tariffs,  makes  the  whole  sub- 
ject one  rather  to  be  studied  as  a  politico-economical  than  as 
a  geological  one.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  geologist,  as  such, 
to  establish  the  fact  that  we  have  unrivalled  natural  facilities 
for  the  manufacture  of  iron  ;  the  more  or  less  speedy  devel- 
opment of  these  immense  resources  depends  on  circum- 
stances, the  discussion  of  which  could  not  properly  be  in- 
cluded in  a  work  like  the  present. 

In  order  to  give  as  comprehensive  a  view  as  possible  of  our 
deposits  of  iron  ore,  each  state  will  be  taken  up  separately, 
and  the  principal  localities  mentioned,  with  more  or  less 
detail,  as  it  may  be  deemed  best ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  sec- 
tion a  short  general  review  of  the  whole,  with  statistical 
illustrations,  will  be  added. 

MAINE. — The  ores  of  iron  in  this  state  are  either  veins  and 
vein-like  masses  in  the  metamorphic  palaeozoic,  or  bog  and 
other  surface  ores.  The  most  extensive  deposit  known  at 
present  is  on  the  Aroostook,  about  fifty  miles  above  its 
mouth.  It  is  in  the  calcareous  slates,  which  are  much  meta- 
morphosed. The  bed  is  fully  thirty-six  feet  thick,  and  con- 
sists of  red  hematite,  containing  considerable  manganese. 
ISTo  doubt  there  are  other  similar  beds  of  ore  in  this  region, 
but  their  situation  is  so  remote  that  they  cannot,  at  present, 
be  considered  as  of  any  value. 

Another  such  bed  occurs  in  New  Brunswick,  near  Wood- 
stock, and  not  far  from  the  state  line.  It  lies  on  the  St. 
John's  River,  and  so  is  much  more  likely  to  become  of  value 
than  the  ore  of  the  Aroostook.  In  1848  a  furnace  was  build- 
ing to  work  this  ore,  which  could  be  delivered  at  forty  cents 
per  ton.  Charcoal  is,  of  course,  abundant  in  that  region. 

There  are  numerous  veins  of  magnetic  iron  ore  along  the 
coast,  but  none  of  them  are  sufficiently  wide  to  make  their 
working  a  matter  of  profit.  There  are  some  localities  of 
iron  ores  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  especially  of  bog  ore. 
A  furnace  was  worked  on  a  small  scale  at  Shapleigh,  and 
another  fifty  miles  back  from  Bangor,  on  the  Piscataqua. 
Both  these  have  been  stopped  for  some  time.  At  the  latter 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  459 

locality,  the  ore  was  an  ochrey  hydrated  oxide,  with  conside- 
rable sulphur.  It  was  found  covering  the  surface  of  a  large 
dry  knoll,  lying  just  beneath  the  soil,  and  occurred  in  the 
form  of  limbs,  branches,  and  leaves  of  trees,  having  replaced 
the  organic  particles  entirely. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  blast-furnace  now  at  work  in  the 
state ;  but  there  is  one  given  in  the  Census  of  1850  as  in 
operation. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. — The  deposits  of  iron  ore  in  this  state 
are  more  abundant  than  in  Maine,  but  they  are  not  much 
more  favorably  situated  with  respect  to  facility  of  access. 
The  iron-furnace  at  Franconia  was  for  a  long  time  the  only 
one  in  operation  in  the  state ;  indeed,  I  do  not  know  of  any 
other  one  ever  having  been  built. 

The  ore  is  the  magnetic  oxide,  forming  a  vein  three  to 
four  feet  wide,  running  north  30°  east,  and  dipping  nearly 
vertically.  It  has  been  unskilfully  opened,  and  worked  as 
an  open  cut  for  a  depth  of  150  feet.  The  best  of  the  ore  is 
nearly  pure  magnetic  oxide,  containing  from  two  to  three  per 
cent,  of  silica,  and  a  small  amount  of  titanic  acid. 

The  furnace  was  erected  in  1811,  and  was  producing,  a 
few  years  since,  when  in  blast,  about  two  and  a  half  tons  of 
iron  per  day,  with  a  consumption  of  160  bushels  of  charcoal 
to  the  ton. 

There  is  a  very  extensive  deposit  of  specular  iron  ore  in 
Piermont,  near  Haverhill.  It  occurs  in  heavy  beds  asso- 
ciated with  white  quartz,  and  of  every  degree  of  intermixture 
with  that  mineral.  An  abundance  may  be  obtained  of  an 
ore  yielding  from  50  to  60  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  The 
only  impurity  in  it  is  quartz,  with  a  little  titanic  acid.  This 
appears,  from  its  position,  and  the  character  and  abundance 
of  the  ore,  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  localities  in  the 
state. 

In  the  town  of  Bartlett,  on  Baldface  Mountain,  there  are 
powerful  veins  of  magnetic  iron  ore  of  good  quality ;  but 
their  remote  and  elevated  position  renders  it  unlikely  that 
they  will  be  worked  at  present. 

Localities  of  bog  ore  are  numerous  throughout  the  state ; 


460  IRON    IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 

they  could  be  profitably  worked  only  on  a  small  scale,  and 
for  the  supply  of  the  immediate  vicinity. 

VERMONT. — There  were,  in  1849,  ten  blast-furnaces  in  this 
state,  with  a  capacity  of  production  of  about  8,000  tons  per 
annum,  but  then  producing  hardly  more  than  half  that 
amount. 

The  number  of  the  deposits  of  ore  is  very  considerable, 
and  some  of  them  are  capable  of  furnishing  an  excellent 
quality  of  iron. 

Bog  ore  is  abundantly  distributed  throughout  the  state, 
but  is  of  little  importance,  compared  with  the  ores  of  ter- 
tiary age  which  are  found  along  the  western  base  of  the 
Green  Mountains.  Of  these  the  most  interesting  deposits 
are  at  Brandon  and  Chittenden.  They  consist  of  irregular 
beds  of  brown  hematite  and  yellow  ochre,  associated  with 
manganese  and  a  great  variety  of  differently-colored  clays 
and  beds  of  gravel,  and  also,  at  Brandon,  with  an  extensive 
deposit  of  lignite,  containing  fossil  fruits. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — The  first  ores  smelted  in  this  state  were 
the  bog  ores,  and  the  first  furnace  was  erected  in  Pembroke, 
Plymouth  County,  in  1702.*  In  the  early  part  of  the  pre- 
sent century  there  were  ten  blast  furnaces  in  operation  in 
that  county,  working  bog  ores,  but  they  have  all  stopped, 
both  for  want  of  ore  and  of  fuel.  The  quantity  of  iron 
manufactured  in  these  furnaces  is  estimated  at  1500  tons  per 
annum.  Cannon  were  cast  at  Bridgewater  during  the  Kevo- 
lutionary  war. 

The  veins  of  ore  in  the  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  western 
part  of  the  state  appear  to  be  of  little  value,  owing  to  the 
expense  of  mining  in  the  hard  rock.  One  of  the  best  known 
is  at  Hawley,  in  Franklin  County.  There  are  two  beds  here, 
included  in  mica  slate,  and  at  a  distance  of  ten  feet  from 
each  other,f  one  of  which  is  made  up  of  magnetic  iron  ore, 
and  the  other  of  a  beautifully  micaceous  specular  ore.  Its 
thickness  is  only  about  2J  feet,  and  of  course  too  little  to  be 
of  any  value  at  present. 

The  only  ores  of  any  considerable  value  in  this  state  are 

*  J.  T.  Hodge,  Am.  R.  R.  Journal,  No.  GS3.  f  Ibid.  No.  GS4. 


MASSACHUSETTS.  4G1 

those  of  tertiary  age  in  Western  Massachusetts.  They  have 
been  and  are  extensively  worked.  The  operations  of  the 
furnaces  in  this  region  have  been  carefully  studied  by  Mr. 
Hodge,  from  whose  accounts  of  them  the  following  infor- 
mation is  mostly  derived.*  The  ores  are  chiefly  brown 
hematite,  in  a  great  variety  of  forms,  and  usually  containing 
considerable  manganese  and  a  little  phosphoric  acid,  besides 
some  earthy  silicious  matter.  Zinc  is  also  present  to  some 
extent,  and  the  oxide  of  this  metal  is  found  lining  the  walls 
of  the  furnaces.  Black  oxide  of  manganese  also  occurs 
with  these  ores,  but  is  usually  too  much  mixed  with  silicious 
matter  to  be  of  any  value  as  an  article  of  commerce.  Mag- 
nesian  limestone  is  generally  found  near  them,  being  a 
nearly  pure  dolomite,  with  a  small  percentage  of  silica.  It 
makes  the  most  suitable  flux.  Quartz  rock  and  fire  clay, 
suitable  for  use  in  and  about  the  furnaces,  are  also  abundant 
in  the  neighborhood  of  these  deposits. 

The  fuel  used  in  the  furnaces  is  exclusively  charcoal,  which 
is  furnished  at  from  5  to  7J  cents  per  bushel,  delivered  at  the 
works.  The  wood  is  charred  in  large  kilns  built  of  brick, 
producing  about  3000  bushels  at  a  charge. 

In  1849  there  were  7  furnaces  in  Berkshire  County,  all 
using  hot  blast,  and  all  but  one  driven  by  water-power. 

The  North  Adams  Furnace  is  supplied  from  the  Kingsley 
ore-bed,  which  furnishes  a  very  silicious  ore,  and  from  the 
Anthony  bed,  at  South  Adams. 

The  Lanesboro  Furnace  is  supplied  from  the  Sherman  and 
Newton  ore-beds  with  an  excellent  brown  hematite.  At  the 
former  the  ore  lies  on  the  east  side  of  a  low  ridge  of  lime- 
stone, in  layers  interstratified  with  clays  and  ochres,  and  it 
is  very  abundant.  The  Newton  bed  is  described  by  Mr. 
Hodge  as  being  situated,  in  a  nearly  vertical  position,  in  a 
high  ridge  of  mica  and  talcose  slates. 

The  Richmond  Furnace  and  the  Lenox  Furnace  are  sup- 
plied chiefly  from  the  "West  Stockbridge  ore-beds. 

The  West  Stockbridge  ore-bed  supplies  the  furnaces  of 
the  "  Stockbridge  Iron  Company,"  as  well  as  the  two  last- 

*  See  Am.  R.  R.  Jour.,  No.  G84. 


462  IRON    IN    CONNECTICUT. 

mentioned.  It  lies  along  the  southeast  side  of  one  of  the 
limestone  ranges  so  common  in  this  region.  It  has  been 
opened  for  a  third  of  a  mile  in  length,  in  two  portions,  one 
of  which  is  called  the  Leet-hed,  and  the  other  the  Chauncey 
Leet-bed.  In  the  former,  the  ore  is  found  in  alternating 
strata  with  ochres  and  clays.  The  layers  of  solid  ore  some- 
times exceed  10  feet  in  thickness,  and  parallel  layers  are 
separated  from  each  other  by  a  variable  bed  of  earthy  mat- 
ters. The  ore  is  of  good  quality,  of  a  chocolate-brown  color, 
passing  into  black,  and  containing  more  or  less  manganese, 
and  a  little  phosphoric  acid.  The  Chauncey  Leet-bed  has 
been  worked  considerably;  its  extent  is  not  known,  but  is 
very  great.  The  iron  produced  from  it  is  of  excellent  quality. 

The  Vandeusenville  Furnace  is  in  the  town  of  Great  Bar- 
rington,  and  is  also  supplied  with  ore  from  West  Stock- 
bridge. 

The  capacity  of  these  furnaces  is  about  12,000  tons  per 
annum. 

CONNECTICUT.  —  There  are  a  few  localities  in  this  state 
where  magnetic  ore  has  been  found  in  veins  in  the  meta- 
morphic  rocks,  but  they  have  been,  thus  far,  little  worked. 

The  great  spathic-iron  vein  in  Roxbury  also  lies  unworked, 
so  far  as  I  am  informed.  This  vein  is  described  by  Prof. 
Shepard  as  being  from  6  to  8  feet  in  width,  and  consisting 
of  pure  carbonate  of  iron  mixed  with  white  quartz.  The 
locality  is  said  to  be  well  situated  in  every  respect,  and  the 
ore  abundant. 

The  only  iron-beds  which  are  of  any  importance  in  this 
state  are  in  its  northwestern  corner,  and  belong  to  the  dis- 
trict just  described  in  Massachusetts;  the  ores  are  similar  in 
character  and  in  geological  position. 

The  furnaces  are  in  the  towns  of  Salisbury,  Canaan,  Corn- 
wall, Sharon,  and  Kent,  and  the  adjacent  establishments  in 
Dutchess  County,  "New  York,  belong  to  the  same  group. 

In  1849,  Mr.  Hodge  gives  the  number  of  furnaces  in 
Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  using  hematite  ores,  at  16, 
and  their  capacity  of  production  is  estimated  at  12,000  tons 
per  annum. 

All  these  are  supplied  from  one  source,  the  Ore  Hill  Mine 


NEW    YORK.  463 

of  Salisbury.  This  is  a  vast  deposit  of  ochres,  clays,  and 
hematite,  belonging  to  the  tertiary  formation.  The  ore  lies 
in  irregular-shaped  masses,  the  whole  arrangement  here,  as 
in  the  other  localities  in  this  position,  being  one  very  difficult 
to  decipher.  Hence  their  geological  place  was  for  a  long 
time  misunderstood,  and  they  were  all  referred  to  the  drift, 
previous  to  the  discovery  of  the  lignite  and  fossil  fruit  of 
Brandon,  Vermont.  At  the  Salisbury  mine,  the  ore  is  of  a 
character  which  furnishes  forge  pig  of  the  finest  quality. 
The  best  ore  is  a  fibrous  and  massive  hematite,  and,  from 
the  circumstance  that  it  is  furnished  to  the  different  com- 
panies at  a  uniform  price,  each  one  being  allowed  to  select 
the  ore  where  it  chooses  and  of  such  quality  as  it  prefers,  the 
workings  are  very  irregular,  and  only  the  best  kinds  have 
been  taken.  Mr.  Hodge  estimates  that,  in  the  fifty  years 
previous  to  1850,  from  250,000  to  300,000  tons  of  ore  had 
been  taken  from  this  hill.  The  best  quality  of  iron  is  made 
with  cold  blast,  and  its  actual  cost,  delivered  on  the  railroad, 
is  no  less  than  $30  per  ton.  This,  however,  is  considered  as 
superior  to  any  other  iron  manufactured  in  the  country,  for 
articles  requiring  great  strength  and  tenacity.  The  iron 
made  by  hot  blast  is  not  so  good ;  but  the  furnaces  running 
with  cold  blast  produce  only  half  the  quantity  of  those  work- 
ing with  hot  blast,  and  use  fifty  bushels  more  of  charcoal  to 
the  ton. 

The  Kent  ore-bed  was  formerly  of  considerable  importance, 
being  similar  to  that  of  Salisbury;  it  has,  however,  been 
pretty  much  worked  out. 

The  cost  of  ore  and  coal  was,  in  1849,  for  the  furnaces 
using  the  ore  of  the  Salisbury  bed,  from  §20  to  $23  per  ton 
of  iron  produced. 

NEW  YORK. — The  deposits  of  iron  ore  in  this  state  are  on 
the  most  extensive  scale  and  of  the  most  varied  character. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  in  Columbia  and  Dutchess 
Counties,  hematite  ores  occur  in  extensive  and  valuable 
deposits,  being  similar  in  character  and  adjacent  to  those 
just  described  as  occurring  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 
There  were,  in  1849,  seven  furnaces  using  these  ores.  Ac- 
cording to  Professor  Beck,  there  are  several  important  beds. 


464  IRON    IN    NEW    YORK. 

That  of  Fislikill  is  mentioned  as  occurring  in  a  hill,  near  the 
junction  of  mica  slate  with  the  gray .  and  white  limestone. 
The  Clove  ore-bed  is  an  extensive  deposit  of  brown  hematite 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town  of  Union-Yale.  The 
Foss  ore-bed  is  of  less  importance,  but  similar  to  the  one 
last  mentioned.  The  Amenia  bed  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant in  this  region,  and  has  yielded  a  large  amount  of  ore, 
and,  according  to  Professor  Mather,  will  continue  to  do  so 
for  many  years  to  come.  A  layer  of  broken  rocks  and  gravel 
covers  the  ore  to  a  depth  of  from  five  to  twenty  feet,  and  the 
ore-bed  beneath  had  in  1838  been  worked  to  a  depth  of 
forty-five  feet  without  its  bottom  having  been  found.  The 
amount  furnished  by  this  bed  is  estimated  at  5000  tons  per 
annum,  yielding  fifty  per  cent,  of  pig  iron.  Prescott's  ore- 
bed  is  in  Columbia  County,  in  the  town  of  Hillsdale.  It 
seems  to  be  similar  in  position,  as  well  as  in  the  quality  of 
the  ore  furnished  by  it,  to  the  one  just  described.  The  quan- 
tity is  also  very  large,  as  the  bed  has  been  penetrated  to  a 
depth  of  thirty-two  feet,  and  the  ore  found  to  improve  in 
quality,  and  to  continue  still  farther. 

The  belt  of  metamorphic  rocks  which  passes  through  the 
southeastern  corner  of  the  state,  and  is  developed  principally 
in  Putnam,  Orange,  and  "Westchester  Counties,  contains 
very  numerous  deposits  of  magnetic  iron  ore,  but  which 
appear  to  have  been,  at  least  until  quite  recently,  very  much 
neglected.  Prof.  Beck  remarks  of  the  ores  of  Orange 
County,  that"  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  quantity  (of  the 
magnetic  oxide  of  iron)  which  exists  here  does  not  exceed 
that  found  in  an  equal  area  in  any  part  of  the  world."  In 
1849,  there  were  only  two  furnaces  using  these  ores, 
although  another  was  built,  and  ready  to  commence  opera- 
tions when  the  price  of  iron  should  rise.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
what  drawback  there  can  be  to  the  future  prosperity  of  this 
region,  situated,  as  it  is,  so  near  to  the  metropolis  of  the 
country.  Among  the  important  deposits  of  ore,  the  follow- 
ing are  mentioned  by  Prof.  Beck  :  Stirling  Mountain,  in  the 
town  of  Monroe ;  the  ore  is  granular  magnetic  oxide,  con- 
taining some  pyrites.  This  deposit  was  opened  in  1750, 
and  a  blast  furnace  built  near  it  during  the  next  year.  The 


IN    NEW    YORK.  465 

Belcher  Mine,  1J  miles  southwest  of  the  Stirling  Mine,  has 
be,en  worked  over  a  width  of  115  feet,  without  finding  the 
wall-rock.  Crossway  Mine ;  a  bed  fourteen  feet  thick,  which 
has  been  mined  to  some  extent,  making  a  moderately  good 
red-short  iron.  Paterson  Mine  ;  the  ore  from  this  locality 
contains  considerable  silica ;  the  iron  produced  from  it  was 
of  good  quality,  the  ore  yielding  about  56  per  cent,  in  the 
furnace.  Forshee  Mine  yields  a  very  good  ore,  which  is 
abundant.  Forest  of  Dean  Mine  ;  six  miles  west-northwest 
of  Fort  Montgomery ;  according  to  Mr.  Hodge,  a  vein  of 
magnetic  ore,  from  10  to  16  feet  wide,  of  good  quality  and 
well  situated  for  working. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  all  the  localities 
known  to  exist  in  this  part ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  under- 
stand why  they  have  not  been  more  extensively  worked. 
Recently,  it  is  said,  operations  have  been  commenced  here 
on  a  somewhat  more  extended  scale  than  previously,  but  I 
have  not  the  particulars  of  what  is  now  doing. 

The  great  azoic  region  of  !N"ew  York,  which  occupies  the 
larger  portion  of  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  extending 
from  Lake  Champlain  to  Lake  Ontario,  is  exceedingly  rich 
in  the  specular  and  magnetic  ores  of  iron.  It  would  be  vain 
to  attempt  to  state  all  the  localities  where  these  deposits 
exist,  but  some  of  the  most  important  may  .be  specified. 
The  counties  where  they  are  most  developed,  or  best  known, 
arc  Essex  and  Clinton.  St.  Lawrence  also  contains  some 
very  valuable  mines.  Those  of  Franklin  and  Jefferson 
Counties  are  of  less  importance.  The  iron  ores  of  this 
region  have  been  described  by  Prof.  Emmons  and  Prof. 
Beck  in  their  official  reports,  and  also,  partially,  by  Mr. 
Hodge. 

The  ores  of  Clinton  County  are  among  the  most  celebrated 
in  the  country.  They  are  all  in  masses  intercalated  in  the 
gneissoidal  rocks,  and  coinciding  with  them  in  their  line  of 
strike,  but  not  always  in  their  apparent  planes  of  dip.  The 
Arnold  Veins  are  best  known.  They  are  four  in  number ; 
of  which  one,  the  "  Old  Blue  Vein,"  is  considered  of  great 
value  on  account  of  the  purity  of  its  ores.  This  varies  from 
two  to  eight  feet  in  width,  and  in  1842  had  been  worked  to 

30 


466  IRON    IN    NEW    YORK. 

a  depth  of  260  feet,  and  over  a  length  of  about  80  rods. 
The  ore  of  this  vein,  according  to  Prof.  Beck's  analysis, 
consists  of  nearly  pure  magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  with  a  small 
percentage  of  silicious  matter.  The  four  veins  are  parallel 
with  each  other,  and  have  all  hcen  heaved  simultaneously  by 
trap-dykes  which  intersect  them. 

The  Palmer  Vein  is  a  bunch  of  magnetic  iron  ore  85  feet 
wide,  without  any  distinct  walls,  but  gradually  passing  into 
the  adjacent  rock.  The  ore  is  much  mixed  with  quartz,  and 
requires  washing  before  being  worked.  The  Cook  Veins 
arc  four  or  more  in  number,  of  which  the  widest  is  14  feet 
across.  They  dip  nearly  perpendicularly,  with  the  rock. 
The  ore  is  said  by  Prof.  Emmons  to  make  iron  of  the  first 
quality  for  toughness.  The  principal  vein  has  been  traced 
for  1 J  miles.  The  Winter  bed  appears  in  the  form  of  a  thick 
plate,  overspreading  several  square  yards  of  the  rock  with 
which  it  is  associated.  According  to  Dr.  Emmons,  "  it 
appears  as  if  deposited  horizontally  on  the  rocks,  like  an 
overflowing  melted  mass  of  lava." 

In  1849,  the  largest  bloomery  in  the  country  was  engaged 
in  working  these  ores.  It  had  21  fires,  and  one  oven  for  re- 
heating the  blooms.  The  bar  iron  produced  is  said  to  be 
much  valued  for  nails.  Mr.  Hodge  remarks  of  the  forges  in 
this  and  the  .adjoining  county,  that  their  business  is  very  ex- 
tensive, requiring  about  50,000  tons  of  ore  a  year  to  supply 
their  demand.  The  blooms  and  bar  iron  made  by  them  will 
bear  the  high  cost  of  transportation,  which  pig  iron  would 
not  do.  Besides,  it  is  generally  believed  that  these  ores 
work  better  in  the  bloomery  fire  than  in  the  blast  furnace. 

The  ores  of  Essex  County  are  not  less  valuable  than  those 
of  Clinton.  Port  Henry  is  the  head-quarters  of  the  iron 
manufacture  of  this  district.  Among  the  most  important 
iron-producing  localities  are  the  Cheever  Mine,  the  Sanford 
Vein,  the  Penfield  Vein,  &c.  The  Cheever  Veins  are  two  in 
number,  one  of  which  is  six  feet,  and  the  other  from  eight 
to  ten  in  thickness.  The  ore  is  a  very  pure  magnetic  oxide, 
of  rather  coarse  grain.  The  cost  of  mining  and  conveying 
the  ore  to  the  furnaces  on  the  Lake,  in  1849,  was  about  80 
cents.  A  deep  adit  has  been  driven  in  from  near  the  Lake, 


NEW    JERSEY.  467 

which  will  afford  access  to  many  hundred  thousand  tons  of 
ore. 

The  Sanford  Vein  is  ahout  four  miles  northwest  of  Port 
Henry.  This  ore  is  remarkable  for  its  coarsely-crystalline 
texture,  and  for  containing  considerable  phosphate  of  lime 
mixed  with  it.  Its  mass  is  very  large,  so  that  it  may  be 
easily  and  cheaply  mined.  It  works  easily  in  the  blast  fur- 
nace, but  is  not  adapted  for  the  bloomcry. 

The  other  and  more  remote  parts  of  the  county  contain 
numerous  deposits  of  ore,  many  of  which  arc  of  great  ex- 
tent, but  they  have  been  but  little  worked.  The  cost  of 
manufacturing  pig  iron  in  this  region,  in  1849,  was  about 
$20  per  ton ;  the  cost  of  the  ore  being  estimated  at  $2  per 
ton,  and  of  charcoal  at  6  cents  per  bushel,  which  was  the 
price  usually  paid. 

The  ores  of  St.  Lawrence  County  are  chiefly  the  specular. 
One  of  the  most  important  localities  is  the  Parish  Mine  in 
Gouverneur.  From  an  analysis  of  this  ore  by  Prof.  Beck,  it 
appears  that  it  is  almost  pure  peroxide  of  iron,  containing 
only  two  or  three  per  cent,  of  silicious  matter.  The  deposit 
of  ore  is  represented  by  him  as  a  flat  bed,  between  the 
gneiss  and  the  Potsdam  Sandstone ;  but  according  to  Prof. 
Emmons,  it  appears  to  have  the  character  of  an  eruptive 
mass,  which  has  lifted  up  the  strata  of  the  sandstone,  and 
caused  them  to  dip  each  way  from  the  igneous  nucleus. 
The  Tatc  and  Policy  Veins  are  also  mentioned  by  the  State 
Geologist  as  being  of  some  importance.  Veins  of  magnetic 
ore  occur  in  the  gneiss  of  this  county;  they  are,  however, 
of  less  consequence  than  the  deposits  of  specular  ore.  Bog 
ores  arc  also  abundantly  distributed  through  the  northern 
counties. 

In  the  western  part  of  the  state,  there  arc  deposits  of  iron 
ore  of  considerable  value  in  strata  of  the  Clinton  group. 
They  form  a  band  of  small  thickness,  but  lie  near  the  sur- 
face, so  as  to  be  easily  mined.  The  ore  is  a  compact  and 
earthy  peroxide,  often  fossiliferous ;  and  there  were,  in  1849, 
five  furnaces  using  it. 

NEW  JERSEY. — The  very  important  iron-producing  district 
of  New  Jersey  is  a  continuation  of  that  previously  noticed 


468  IRON  IN   NEW   JERSEY. 

as  occurring  in  Dutchess,  Orange,  and  Putnam  Counties,  in 
New  York.  The  rocks  in  which  the  ores  of  New  Jersey 
occur  are  gneiss  and  hornblende  slates,  having  a  steep  incli- 
nation, and  a  direction  nearly  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
ore  is  the  magnetic,  and  it  occurs  in  heavy  bands,  parallel 
with,  and  having  the  same  dip  as  the  enclosing  rocks.  The 
most  extensively-worked  beds  are  in  Morris  County,  but  the 
ores  appear  to  be  abundantly  distributed  through  the  whole 
of  that  part  of  the  state  which  is  underlaid  by  the  rocks 
denominated  "primary"  in  the  State  Geological  Report. 
The  following  localities  are  mentioned  by  the  State  Geolo- 
gist as  of  importance.  In  Pompton  there  are  several  veins, 
which  occur  in  the  continuation  of  Stirling  Mountain  of 
New  York.  Two  parallel  veins  have  been  extensively 
opened,  and  one  of  them  traced  for  three  miles.  They  occur 
in  a  granitic  gneiss,  abounding  in  hornblende  and  destitute 
of  mica.  The  width  of  the  ore  in  the  eastern  vein  seems 
to  vary  from  6  to  15  feet,  and  its  quality  is  excellent,  answer- 
ing either  for  the  bloomery  or  the  forge.  The  western  vein 
furnishes  an  ore  which  makes  a  very  cold-short  iron.  In  the 
range  of  country  extending  for  several  miles  northeast  of 
Succasunny,  in  Morris  County,  there  are  deposits  of  a  very 
fine  magnetic  ore,  of  great  value.  Prof.  Rogers  is  of 
opinion  that  there  are  probably  at  least  two  parallel  veins,  as 
the  openings,  although  not  continuous,  are  distributed  along 
two  parallel  lines.  There  are  mines  opened  on  these  lines 
of  ore  at  intervals  for  a  distance  of  ten  miles.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  ore  varies  from  a  few  feet  to  fifteen.  The  most 
easterly  bed  furnishes  the  best  ore.  Scott's  Mountain,  in 
Warren,  is  another  locality  abounding  in  iron  ores,  whose 
mode  of  occurrence  is  similar  to  that  just  described. 

From  a  very  complete  account  of  the  iron  manufactures  of 
Morris  County,  published  recently  in  the  New  York  Tribune, 
it  appears  that  there  were  in  that  district,  in  1853,  about  50 
forges  in  operation,  with  90  fires,  each  fire  producing  about 
75  tons  of  blooms  and  bar  iron  annually,  with  a  consumption 
of  42,000  bushels  of  charcoal.  There  are  extensive  rolling 
mills  at  Dover,  Rockaway,  Powerville,  Boonton,  and  Char- 
lottenburgh.  The  Boonton  works  are  among  the  most 


PENNSYLVANIA.  469 

extensive  and  best-managed  in  the  country.  The  blast 
furnace  produced,  in  119  weeks  from  Feb.  13,  1851,  11,755 
tons  of  pig  iron,  working  with  anthracite  coal,  of  which  it 
consumed  20,995  tons.  At  the  same  establishment,  the 
following  was  the  amount  of  business  done  from  October  1, 
1852,  to  May  1,  1853,  a  period  of  seven  months :  Pig  iron 
puddled,  3774  tons;  nail-plate  rolled,  3009  tons;  spike-rods 
rolled,  885  tons.  During  the  same  period,  83G  tons  of  rail- 
road spikes,  and  5617  of  cut  nails  were  produced.  The  five 
rolling  mills  above  mentioned  employ  500  hands,  and  work 
up  16,000  tons  of  iron,  with  a  consumption  of  9000  tons  of 
anthracite,  and  produce,  in  the  form  of  bar  iron,  hoops, 
nails,  spikes,  £c.,  13,780  tons,  worth  in  market  about 
§1,000,000. 

PENNSYLVANIA. — The  immense  resources  of  this  state  in 
coal  and  iron  can  hardly  be  more  than  hinted  at  in  the  space 
allowed  by  the  plan  of  this  work.  Indeed,  until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  geological  survey,  which  has  been  going  on  at 
intervals  since  1836,  and  the  publication  of  its  results,  it  will 
be  difficult  to  give  an  account  of  the  localities  of  iron  ore 
which  shall  be  anything  more  than  fragmentary,  like  the 
materials  from  which  it  is  drawn.  Mr.  K.  C.  Taylor,  in 
his  valuable  work,*  has  given  a  connected  account  of  the 
coal-fields  of  the  state,  and  some  statistics  of  the  iron  manu- 
facture ;  the  two  are  so  intimately  connected  that  they  can 
hardly  be  separated  in  their  development. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  computed  that  in  Pennsylvania  about 
15,000  square  miles  arc  occupied  by  the  coal-measures ;  and 
when  the  abundance  of  the  iron  ores  which  these  and  the 
strata  below  them  contain  is  taken  into  consideration,  some 
idea  may  be  formed  of  the  capacity  of  production  of  the  state. 

In  one  respect  Pennsylvania  has  a  great  advantage  over 
the  other  states  underlaid  by  the  coal  measures.  She  is  the 
almost  exclusive  possessor  of  the  anthracite  of  the  country, 
whose  introduction  into  the  iron-making  business  has  proved 
to  be  a  great  step  in  advance,  and  has  given  an  immense 
development  to  her  production. 

*  Statistics  of  Coal  (Phil.  1S4S),  p.  72. 


470  IRON    IN    PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  iron-works  of  the  state  are  grouped  into  two  divisions, 
separated  by  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  In  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania, both  anthracite  and  charcoal  are  used,  with  hot  and 
cold  blast.  In  Western  Pennsylvania,  charcoal  and  cold 
blast  arc  principally  employed. 

According  to  the  State  Geologist,  it  appears  that  the  ores 
used  in  Pennsylvania  belong  to  three  distinct  species :  mag- 
netic iron  ore,  brown  oxide  of  iron,  and  the  compact  carbo- 
nate ;  the  two  latter  kinds  being  much  the  most  extensively 
diffused.  The  magnetic  ores  occur  only  in  the  southeastern 
division  of  the  state,  in  the  older  metamorphic  rocks,  or 
adjacent  to  the  trap-dykes  of  the  middle  secondary  region. 
The  carbonate  abounds  in  the  anthracite  and  bituminous 
coal-measures,  where  it  exists  in  many  of  the  basins  in  inex- 
haustible quantities.  The  brown  hematites  occur  in  greater 
or  less  abundance  in  all  the  formations  within  the  state,  not 
only  with  many  of  the  older  secondary  strata  of  the  Appa- 
lachian region,  but  also  in  the  metamorphic  rocks  and  the 
coal-measures.  The  analyses  of  the  magnetic  ores  show 
from  63  to  65  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron,  the  chief  impurity 
being  silica.  The  brown  hematites  of  the  rocks  of  Lower 
Silurian  age  contain  usually  from  45  to  55  per  cent.,  and  the 
carbonates  from  83  to  45  per  cent,  of  iron. 

The  furnaces  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  use  principally 
hematite  and  magnetic  iron  ore ;  those  of  the  western  por- 
tion of  the  state  are  supplied  almost  entirely  with  the  argilla- 
ceous carbonate,  only  a  few  of  them  using  hematite  alone,  or 
mixed  with  other  ores. 

The  following  statistics  from  the  "  Documents  relating  to 
the  Manufacture  of  Iron  in  Pennsylvania,"  published  in 
1850  by  a  committee  of  those  interested  in  the  coal  and  iron 
trade,  will  show  the  extent  of  the  business  at  that  time. 

Of  the  sixty-two  counties  in  the  state,  iron-works  had 
been  established  in  forty-five ;  and  in  nine  of  the  seventeen 
in  which  there  were  none,  there  was  believed  to  be  an  abun- 
dance of  coal  and  iron,  the  only  drawback  being  the  want  of 
means  of  communication. 

The  annexed  table  exhibits  the  principal  facts  in  regard 
to  the  Pennsylvania  iron-works  producing  iron  from  the 
ore : — 


STATISTICS    OF    PENNSYLVANIA    IRON.  471 

N  Cnpiial         r  Mnke  in      Mnkc  in 

invested.       CaP"clt>-        i847.  1849. 

Blast  furnaces  using  anthracite,      .     57  $3,221,000  221,400  151,331     109.168 

"      bituminous  coal,    7  223,000  12,000  7,800         4,900 

"               "      coke,      ...       4  800,000  12,000  10,000 
"      charcoal  with 

hot  blast,     .     85  3,478,500  130,705  94,519       58,302 
"               ':      charcoal  with 

cold  blast,    .  145  5,170,370  173,054  125,155       80,005 

Bloomeries, G  28.700  000  545            335 

304     12,921,570    550,959     389,350     253,370 

The  following  statement  shows  the  most  important  facts 
with  regard  to  the  conversion  of  cast  into  wrought  iron  : — 

TV-  Capital       Forpfe-  Puddling  n                  Make  in    M;ike  in 

*°-  invested.        fires,  furnacei  CaPacit> '       1847.          1849. 

Charcoal  furnaces,    .     121  $2,020.3'JO     402  50,250     £9,907     2*,49"> 

Rolling  mills, .     .     .       79  5,554,200  430        174,400103,700108,358 


200     §7,580,500     402         430       224.050  203,727   130,853 

A  small  amount  of  iron  is  also  converted  into  steel,  the 
number  of  establishments  being,  in  1849,  thirteen,  and  their 
product  6,078  tons. 

From  the  same  source,  the  total  number  of  all  the  iron- 
works in  the  state  is  given  as  504  : — 

Capital  invested  in  lands,  buildings,  and  machinery,        .         .         .  $20,502,070 

Number  of  men  employed. 30,103 

Number  of  horses  employed, 13,502 

Number  of  men  otherwise  dependent  on  the  iron-works  for  their 

support, 11,513 

The  consumption  of  fuel  was,  in  1847,  as  follows : — 

Anthracite,  483,000  tons,  at  §3, $1,449,000 

Bituminous  coal,  9,007,000  bushels,  at  §0  05, 450,380 

Wood,  1,490,252  cords,  at  $2  (=  $0  05  per  bushel  for  charcoal),       .         2.980,504 

$4,879.884 

The  progress  of  the  iron  manufacture  in  this  state  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  table  of  the  amount  of  pig  iron 
made  at  different  periods  since  1828.  It  is  compiled  from 


472  IRON    IN    MARYLAND. 

the  Census  returns,  E.  C.  Taylor's  work  on   Coal,  and  the 
Report  of  the  Pennsylvania  Committee  above  referred  to  : — 


1828, 

Pig  iron  made. 
Tons. 
.       24.822* 

1844,  .... 

Pig  iron  made. 
Tons. 
.     240,000 

1S30, 
1840, 
1842, 

.       31,050* 
98,395 
.     151,885 

1S4G  
1847,  .... 
1849 

.      308,050 
.     388,805 
°53  000 

1843, 

.      190,000 

1850,  .... 

.     285,702 

Since  1850,  the  increase  of  production  has  been  very  con- 
siderable, but  the  statistics  cannot  be  given  for  any  later 
period. 

MARYLAND. — In  this  state  the  production  of  iron  has  been 
extensively  and  successfully  carried  on.  As  far  back  as  1756, 
there  were  eight  furnaces  and  nine  forges  in  operation. 
The  ores  used  arc  from  the  tertiary  and  the  coal-measures 
principally.  The  greater  part  of  the  furnaces  in  the  state 
are  situated  near  tide-water,  and  are  supplied  partly  from 
beds  of  clay  iron-stone,  occurring  in  the  tertiary  belt  which 
occupies  the  eastern  portion  of  the  state.  This  ore  is  an 
argillaceous  carbonate,  similar  to  that  found  in  the  coal- 
measures.  A  considerable  quantity  of  hematite  is  obtained, 
from  deposits  which  seem  to  be  analogous  to  those  described 
as  occurring  in  connection  with  clays  and  ochres  in  the 
western  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  Vermont  and  Connec- 
ticut. Mr.  Hodgef  describes  a  locality  at  Beaver  Dam,  three 
miles  from  the  railroad  at  Cockeysville,  where  the  ore  lies 
under  a  thickness  of  15  feet  of  clays,  in  masses  closely 
packed  together,  some  of  which  weigh  several  tons.  In  the 
gncissoidal  belt  which  traverses  this  state  the  specular  and 
magnetic  ores  are  occasionally  found,  but  they  do  not  appear 
to  have  been  worked  to  any  considerable  extent.  The  iron- 
stones of  the  coal-measures  are  the  most  valuable  deposits 
in  the  state,  and  are  similar  in  character  to  those  usually 
found  in  this  position.  The  superficial  coal  area  of  the  state, 
according  to  Mr.  Taylor,  occupies  only  550  square  miles, 

*  These  years  are  considered  by  Mr.  Taylor  as  very  much  underrated, 
t  Am.  R.  R.  Journal,  No.  703.   " 


VIRGINIA.  473 

and  is  principally  confined  to  Alleghany  County,  where  the 
great  works  of  Lonaconing  and  Mount  Savage  are  in  active 
operation.  Dr.  Higgins,  the  State  Chemist,  divides  the 
ores  occurring  in  this  county  into  four  classes :  fossil  ore,  red 
hematite,  brown  hematite,  and  clay  iron-stone.  He  remarks 
that  there  arc  five  distinct  beds  of  the  last-named  variety  in 
the  coal-fields  of  Youghiogeny  River,  the  thinnest  being 
about  one  foot,  and  the  thickest  five  feet  in  thickness. 
Their  analysis  shows  them  to  contain  from  27  to  43  per  cent, 
of  metallic  iron.  The  quantity  and  quality  both  of  the  ores 
of  iron  and  the  associated  coal,  is  such  as  to  make  this  a 
region  likely  to  become  of  great  importance  for  the  manu- 
facture of  this  metal.  The  hematites  of  this  section  of  the 
state  arc  worked  to  a  considerable  extent  on  Dan's  Moun- 
tain. They  have  supplied  most  of  the  ore  to  the  furnaces 
of  the  district.  The  analyses  show  them  to  be  of  good 
quality,  and  to  contain  from  50  to  60  per  cent,  of  iron. 

In  1853,  there  were  in  the  state  31  blast  furnaces,  with  a 
capacity  of  70,500  tons  per  annum.  The  Census  of  1850 
gives  the  number  in  operation  at  that  time  as  18,  and  the 
produce  of  pig  iron  as  43,641  tons. 

VIRGINIA. — This  state  abounds  in  iron  ores  as  well  as  coal, 
and  the  manufacture  is  of  great  and  growing  importance; 
but,  for  want  of  full  reports  of  the  geological  survey,  it  seems 
hardly  possible  to  give  even  a  synoptical  view  of  its  resources 
in  this  branch  of  its  mineral  wealth. 

It  appears  that,  as  early  as  1732,  there  were  four  furnaces 
in  operation  in  Virginia,  and  that  these  were  among  the  first 
works  of  this  kind  erected  in  !N~orth  America. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  State  Geologist  on  the 
reconnaissance  of  Virginia,  there  arc  veins  of  magnetic  iron 
ore  and  hematite  in  the  older  crystalline  rocks ;  and,  as  they 
occur  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Richmond  bituminous  coal-field, 
they  are  likely  to  be  of  much  value.  Throughout  the  South- 
west Mountain  and  its  spurs,  specular  and  magnetic  iron  ores 
are  also  found,  similar  to  the  deposits  of  the  same  in  New 
Jersey.  In  the  Valley  of  Virginia  hematites  occur  in  abun- 
dance. The  western  part  of  the  state  is  underlaid  by  a  por- 
tion of  the  great  Appalachian  coal-field,  the  area  occupied  by 


474    IRON  IN  NORTH  AND  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

which  amounts  to  about  20,000  square  miles.  As  elsewhere, 
this  coal  is  associated  with  iron-stone ;  and  hardly  any  portion 
of  the  United  States  is  more  highly  favored  as  respects  the 
location  and  extent  of  its  mineral  wealth  than  this.  The 
development  of  these  resources  has  thus  far  been  but  limited, 
although  there  are  considerable  establishments  for  manufac- 
turing iron  at  Wheeling.  According  to  the  Census  of  1850, 
there  were  29  blast  furnaces  in  the  state,  producing  22,163 
tons  of  pig,  and  39  establishments  furnishing  15,328  tons  of 
wrought  iron. 

KORTH  CAROLINA. — The  manufacture  of  iron  has  made  but 
little  progress  in  this  state.  The  Census  returns  of  1850 
show  the  amount  produced  within  its  limits  to  have  been 
only  400  tons.  The  geological  survey  now  in  progress  has 
not  yet  thrown  any  light  on  its  resources  in  this  respect.  It 
appears,  however,  that  the  coal-field  of  Deep  River  contains 
little  iron  ore  of  value.  The  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  state 
undoubtedly  contain  veins  of  magnetic  and  specular  ores ; 
but,  up  to  this  time,  the  means  of  communication  with  the 
interior,  where  they  should  occur,  are  too  limited  to  render 
their  existence  a  matter  of  much  consequence. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. — According  to  M.  Tuomey,  the  ores  of 
iron  are  sufficiently  abundant  in  this  state ;  but  if  the  Census 
returns  may  be  believed,  there  was  no  iron  made  in  1850. 
At  the  date  of  the  Geological  Report,  there  were  eight  or  ten 
blast  furnaces ;  but  the  information  with  regard  to  their  work- 
ing is  too  indefinite  to  be  used.  The  quantity  of  iron  made 
would  seem  to  be  very  small,  and  the  business  to  be  waste- 
fully  conducted. 

The  ores  are  described  as  being  the  magnetic  and  specular, 
and  brown  hematite.  The  two  former  are  chiefly  confined 
to  a  narrow  belt  of  slates  in  York,  Union,  and  Spartanburg 
Districts,  extending  for  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles  in  a 
direction  north  50°  east.  The  magnetic  oxide  occurs  in  a 
belt  of  talcose  slate,  in  a  series  of  bands  or  veins  parallel 
with  the  stratification  of  the  enclosing  rock,  sometimes  swell- 
ing out  to  a  thickness  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  at  others 
diminishing  to  a  foot,  or  even  less.  At  the  surface  the  ore  is 
generally  much  mixed  with  the  slates,  and  has  an  unpro- 


ALABAMA  —  TENNESSEE.  475 

mising  appearance;  but  at  a  little  depth  it  improves  in 
quality.  The  specular  ores  occur  in  a  belt  of  mica  slates, 
immediately  overlying  the  talcose  slates  which  contain  the 
magnetic  oxide.  This  belt  extends  from  the  Xorth  Carolina 
line  to  Gelkcy's  Mountain,  in  Union  District.  These  deposits, 
according  to  M.  Tuomey's  account,  can  be  of  little  value, 
since  they  gradually  change  into  the  sulphuret  on  bein£ 
worked  downwards.  Brown  hematite  occurs  in  a  greater 
number  of  localities  than  any  other  ore,  but  nothing  is 
known  of  the  value  of  the  deposits. 

GEORGIA. — But  little  can  be  said  of  the  iron  deposits  of  this 
state.  In  1849  there  were  two  blast  furnaces  on  the  Etowah 
River,  a  few  miles  from  Cartersville,  on  the  Western  and 
Atlantic  Railroad,  turning  out,  when  in  blast,  about  6  tons 
of  pig  iron  per  day.  In  the  Census  returns  for  1850,  three 
furnaces  are  set  down  as  in  operation  in  the  state ;  their  yield 
is  given  at  900  tons  of  pig  iron,  and  $28,000  in  value  of  other 
products. 

ALABAMA. — Brown  hematite  and  the  specular  oxide  of  iron 
are  said  by  the  State  Geologist  to  exist  in  abundance  in  the 
older  Silurian  strata  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  state. 
The  manufacture  of  this  metal,  however,  is  very  little  de- 
veloped. There  were,  in  1849,  eight  bloomeries  and  two 
blast  furnaces  in  operation.  The  principal  works  were  in 
Benton  County,  where  the  furnace  was  producing  about  three 
tons  per  day. 

TENNESSEE. — The  production  of  pig  iron  in  this  state  is 
given  by  the  Census  for  1850  as  30,420  tons,  showing  it  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  iron-producing  states  of  the 
Union.  But  little  is  known  in  detail  of  the  geology  of  the 
Tennessee  coal  region,  the  geological  reports  heretofore  pub- 
lished containing  scarcely  any  information  of  any  practical 
value.  A  new  survey  has  been  recently  organized,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  its  results  will  aid  in  developing  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  state.  The  great  Appalachian  coal-field  ex- 
tends through  Tennessee,  and  there  are  numerous  furnaces 
scattered  over  it.  According  to  local  authorities,  there  were 
in  1849,  in  Dickson  County,  10  blast  furnaces,  of  which  7 
were  in  blast,  and  5  forges,  all  but  one  of  them  in  operation. 


476  IRON    IN    KENTUCKY. 

In  Montgomery  County,  there  were  5  blast  furnaces,  of 
which  4  in  blast,  3  forges,  and  one  rolling  mill ;  in  the  other 
counties  of  Middle  Tennessee,  there  were  14  blast  furnaces 
and  9  bloomeries.  In  West  Tennessee,  there  were  5  blast 
furnaces  and  forges ;  in  East  Tennessee,  12  furnaces,  and 
70  bloomeries,  furnaces,  and  roiling  mills.  The  total  num- 
ber of  furnaces  in  the  state,  according  to  this  authority,  is  47, 
and  of  bloomeries,  &c.,  92.  Tennessee  was,  in  1840,  the 
third  iron-producing  state  of  the  Union ;  but  her  progress 
has  not  kept  pace  with  that  of  the  other  states,  and  she  is 
now  probably  the  fifth  in  rank. 

KENTUCKY. — This  state  is  underlaid  by  portions  of  two  dis- 
tinct coal-fields  ;  its  eastern  end  belongs  to  the  great  Appa- 
lachian, and  its  western  to  the  Illinois  coal-basin.  If  we  may 
believe  Professor  Mather,  the  resources  of  Kentucky  must 
indeed  be  great,  so  far  as  coal  and  iron  are  concerned ;  he 
estimates  the  extent  of  the  coal  region  at  12,000  square  miles, 
of  which  seven  thousand  contain  workable  coal  beds ;  and 
states  that  the  bituminous  coal-seams  are  everywhere  ac- 
companied by  beds  of  iron-stone,  averaging  one  yard  in 
thickness  over  the  whole  extent.  Allowing  for  considerable 
exaggeration  in  these  estimates,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  state 
possesses  abundant  resources  for  the  production  of  this 
metal. 

By  the  returns  of  the  last  Census,  there  were  21  blast 
furnaces  in  operation  here,  placing  the  state  about  sixth  in 
rank  in  her  production  of  iron.  Later  and  more  reliable 
statistics  are  wholly  wanting. 

OHIO. — The  progress  of  the  iron  manufacture  in  this  state 
has  lately  been  very  rapid.  The  use  of  charcoal  seems  to  be 
still  very  general,  although  mineral  coal  is  abundant  and  of 
good  quality.  From  the  State  Geological  Eeports,  it  appears 
that  both  coal  and  iron  occur  together,  and  are  easily  mined, 
throughout  the  southeastern  part  of  the  state,  especially  in 
Hocking  and  Muskingum  Counties.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant points  for  the  manufacture  of  this  metal  is  at  Ironton, 
in  Lawrence  County,  where  there  were,  in  1853,  ten  blast 
furnaces,  which  produced  during  that  year  about  20,000  tons 


MICHIGAN.  477 

of  pig  metal.     The  whole  amount  produced  in  that  county  is 
estimated  at  28,000  tons. 

According  to  the  last  Census,  there  were  85  hlast  furnaces 
in  operation,  making  52,658  tons  of  iron  yearly.  These 
figures  must  be  far  below  the  amount  now  produced. 

MICHIGAN. — Lower  Peninsula. — But  little  has  been  done, 
as  yet,  towards  developing  the  iron  ores  of  the  southern  por- 
tion of  this  state.  The  great  coal-field  also  remains  quite 
unexplored.  According  to  K.  C.  Taylor,  the  beds  of  coal, 
as  observed  by  him  on  the  Shiawassec  River,  are  accompanied 
by  courses  of  excellent  argillaceous  carbonate  of  iron.  Bog 
iron  ore  is  also  quite  abundantly  distributed  through  the 
state. 

Upper  Peninsula,  Lake  Superior  Iron  Region. — The  very 
interesting  deposits  of  iron  ores  on  and  near  Lake  Superior, 
like  those  of  Sweden  and  Missouri,  are  in  the  azoic,  and 
they  form  literally  mountain  masses,  sufficient  to  furnish  an 
unlimited  quantity  of  the  purest  and  finest  ore.* 

The  distance  of  these  deposits  from  the  Lake,  at  the  near- 
est point,  is  about  twelve  miles ;  and  a  railroad  is  now  in 
process  of  construction  which  will  render  them  quite  acces- 
sible. From  this  point,  the  ores  of  iron  are  found  at  intervals 
in  a  belt  of  slates  from  six  to  twenty-five  miles  wide,  extend- 
ing for  a  distance  of  150  miles  or  more  westward  into  the 
State  of  Wisconsin.  The  ore  is  mainly  the  peroxide,  or 
specular  ore,  sometimes  nearly  chemically  pure,  although 
generally  containing  a  small  quantity  of  silicious  matter.  At 
some  of  the  localities  a  little  magnetic  oxide  is  mixed  with 
it,  either  in  fine  crystals  or  intimately  incorporated  with  the 
mass.  It  contains  hardly  a  trace  of  sulphur,  phosphorus,  or 
titanic  acid,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  makes  a  remarkably 
tough  and  fibrous  iron.  The  whole  region  where  these  ores 
occur  is  densely  wooded,  so  that  charcoal  may  be  furnished 
for  a  long  time  at  a  moderate  price.  At  present  only  those 
deposits  of  ore  which  are  nearest  to  navigable  water  can  be 
considered  as  of  much  value,  since  they  can  supply  an  almost 
unlimited  demand.  No  mining  is  required,  as  the  ore  lies 

*  See  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report,  Part  II.  p.  50. 


478  IRON    IN    MISSOURI. 

in  knobs  and  ridges  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the 
general  level,  and  needs  only  to  be  blasted  off,  or  worked  in 
a  quarry,  like  any  other  rock. 

Up  to  this  time  but  little  has  been  done  towards  developing 
these  deposits.  Two  bloomeries  have  been  built  in  the 
region,  one  at  Marquette,  on  the  Lake  shore,  and  another 
near  one  of  the  principal  iron-knobs,  ten  miles  from  the 
Lake.  From  both  these  establishments  about  800  tons  of 
blooms  were  shipped  in  1853.  Upon  the  completion  of  the 
canal  around  the  falls  at  Saut  Ste.  Marie,  by  which  the 
necessity  of  transshipment  will  be  avoided,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  these  ores  will  undoubtedly  be  shipped  to  ports 
on  the  Lower  Lakes,  to  be  worked,  with  other  ores  or  by 
themselves,  in  furnaces  erected  at  convenient  points  and  in 
the  vicinity  of  coal. 

INDIANA  AND  ILLINOIS. — Xearly  the  whole  of  Illinois  and 
a  considerable  part  of  Indiana  is  underlaid  by  coal-measures, 
and  valuable  beds  of  argillaceous  iron  ore  are  said  to  exist  in 
them.  Thus  far,  however,  they  appear  to  have  been  but 
little  developed,  as  there  were  in  1850,  by  the  Census  returns, 
only  four  blast  furnaces  in  operation  in  both  these  states. 
The  vast  system  of  railroads  now  constructing  must  open 
access  to  all  parts  of  the  region ;  and  if  the  deposits  of  iron 
are  as  valuable  as  they  have  been  represented  to  be,  these 
states  must  soon  take  a  high  place  in  the  list  of  the  iron- 
manufacturing  states  of  the  Union.  The  geological  survey 
now  in  progress  in  Illinois  will,  no  doubt,  throw  more  light 
on  the  occurrence  of  the  useful  ores  and  minerals ;  at  present 
but  little  is  definitely  known  respecting  them.  The  coal 
and  iron  ores  of  the  Big  Muddy  River  region,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state,  are  stated  to  be  of  superior  quality. 

"  MISSOURI. — The  resources  of  this  state  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  iron  are  very  great.  Hardly  any  localities  of  ore  in 
the  country  have  a  higher  interest  than  those  in  the  azoic 
of  Missouri;  among  which  the  mountains  of  peroxide  of 
iron  called  the  Iron  Mountain  and  the  Pilot  Knob  are  most 
conspicuous,  and  are  everywhere  known.  There  are  also 
numerous  beds  of  brown  hematite  in  the  various  divisions  of 
the  palaeozoic  strata,  many  of  which  are  capable  of  furnish- 


MISSOURI    IRON    MOUNTAIN.  479 

ing  large  quantities  of  good  ore,  and  are  already  worked  to 
some  extent. 

The  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  eruptive  ores  in  the  azoic 
has  already  been  described,  and  the  Iron  Mountain  alluded 
to  as  a  remarkable  instance  of  a  mass  of  this  character.  It 
is  a  flattened  dome-shaped  elevation,  of  about  200  feet  above 
its  base,  and  forms  the  western  extremity  of  a  ridge  of  reddish 
feldspathic  porphyry,  which  rises  one  or  two  hundred  feet 
higher  than  the  knob  of  iron  ore,  and  stretches  to  the  east 
for  a  mile  or  two.  The  surface  of  the  Iron  Mountain  is  en- 
tirely covered  with  loose  pieces  of  ore,  which  become  more 
and  more  conspicuous  toward  the  summit,  on  account  of  the 
small  quantity  of  soil  and  vegetation  covering  them,  as  well 
as  from  the  fact  that  the  masses  of  ore  themselves  grow 
larger  and  more  angular.  The  summit  is  covered  with  moss- 
grown  blocks,  some  of  which  are  many  tons  in  weight,  piled 
together  in  the  greatest  confusion.  Xowhcre  about  the 
mountain  can  the  rock  or  ore  be  seen  in  place.  On  the  west 
end  of  the  hill  a  considerable  excavation  has  been  made  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  out  the  ore.  A  vertical  cut  was  car- 
ried to  the  depth  of  8  feet,  and  a  shaft  sunk  7  feet  farther ; 
at  the  bottom,  a  bed  of  red  clay,  destitute  of  boulders,  was 
struck  and  penetrated  for  one  foot  only,  without  reaching 
the  solid  ore.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  bed  of  loose 
masses  covering  the  side  of  the  mountain  is  at  this  point  at 
least  15  feet  thick;  it  is  here  made  up  entirely  of  small, 
somewhat  rounded  pieces  of  ore,  packed  together  without 
any  other  substance  than  a  little  bright-red  ferruginous  clay 
between  them.  The  ore  requires  no  selecting  or  washing, 
as  there  are  no  foreign  boulders  or  stones  mixed  with  it.  It 
is  dug  out  close  to  the  furnace,  and  of  course  can  be  fur- 
nished in  unlimited  quantity.  It  is  a  nearly  pure  peroxide 
of  iron,  containing  only  a  small  percentage  of  silica. 

In  1852,  there  were  two  blast  furnaces  built  and  in  opera- 
tion at  the  Iron  Mountain,  making  together  9  tons  of  pig 
iron  per  day.  Flux  is  abundant  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile, 
costing  25  cents  at  the  tunnel-head  per  ton  of  iron  produced. 
Charcoal,  the  only  fuel  used,  costs  3 J  cents  a  bushel ;  the 
company  owning  the  woodland,  and  paying  that  sum  for 


480  IRON    IN    MISSOURI. 

burning  and  hauling  to  the  furnace.  About  110  bushels  of 
coal  are  required  to  make  one  ton  of  iron.  The  furnaces  are 
36  feet  high,  and  one  is  8,  the  other  7  feet  across  the  boshes. 
The  ore  costs  80  cents  a  ton,  mined,  roasted,  broken  up, 
and  delivered  at  the  tunnel-head. 

The  only  difficulty  in  the  way  of  success  at  this  point 
seemed  to  be  the  distance  from  a  market,  transportation  to 
the  Mississippi  costing  at  that  time  $7  50  per  ton,  and  not 
being  practicable  except  during  a  part  of  the  year.  A  plank- 
road  was  then  constructing  to  Ste.  Genevieve,  which  would 
reduce  the  expense  about  one-half.  Since  that  time  a  rail- 
road has  been  commenced  to  connect  St.  Louis  with  the 
iron  region,  and  when  this  enterprise  has  been  completed, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  ore  will  be  carried  to  the  river 
in  large  quantities. 

The  Pilot  Knob  differs  considerably  from  the  Iron  Moun- 
tain in  character.  It  is  much  higher,  by  estimate  650  feet 
above  its  base,  and  is  mainly  composed  of  a  dark  silicious 
rock,  distinctly  bedded,  and  dipping  to  the  south  at  an  angle 
of  25°  or  30°.  For  about  two-thirds  of  the  distance  to  the 
summit,  the  quartz  rock  predominates ;  above  that,  the 
iron  is  found  in  heavy  beds,  alternating  with  silicious  matter. 
Some  of  these  beds  are  very  wide,  and  made  up  of  nearly 
pure  micaceous  and  specular  ore.  The  richest  ores  show  a 
very  evident  slaty  structure,  differing  in  this  respect  entirely 
from  those  of  the  Iron  Mountain,  which  are  compact  and 
without  any  noticeable  cleavage.  The  summit  of  the  Pilot 
Knob  is  ragged  and  bare,  except  where  covered  by  moss,  and 
forms  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  distance ;  hence  the  name. 

There  are  numerous  other  localities  in  the  vicinity,  which, 
although  not  so  well  known  as  those  just  described,  furnish 
an  ore  at  least  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  obtained  from 
the  Pilot  Knob  itself.  The  ore  of  Shepherd's  Mountain  is  the 
magnetic,  and  is  much  valued.  The  Bogy  Bank  furnishes 
a  fine  ore,  containing  occasional  druses  of  quartz.  The  Rus- 
sell Bank  is  a  fine-grained  peroxide,  very  pure,  and  making 
excellent  iron. 

There  was  at  the  Pilot  Knob  in  1852  a  bloomery  with  six 
fires,  built  in  1848,  and  a  "blast  furnace.  Both  together  make 


IOWA  —  WISCONSIN.  481 

about  4000  tons  of  iron  a  year.  The  'cost  of  making  blooms 
was  stated  to  me  as  $30  per  ton.  The  ore  cost  20  cents  a 
ton  delivered  at  the  roasting-heap ;  that  of  Shepherd's  Moun- 
tain cost  55  cents.  The  woodland  is  owned  by  the  company  ; 
35  cents  a  cord  is  paid  for  cutting,  and  charged  to  the  coalers, 
who  are  paid  from  2£  to  3  cents  a  bushel  for  the  coal  delivered 
at  the  furnace.  There  are  about  300  persons  employed  at 
this  place  and  at  the  Iron  Mountain.  The  abundance  and 
purity  of  the  ore  in  the  vicinity  can  hardly  be  surpassed ; 
and  it  will  eventually  be  carried  in  large  quantities  to  the 
Mississippi  and  mixed  with  other  ores  to  be  smelted  by  hard 
coal.  At  present,  charcoal  is  abundant  and  cheap. 

There  arc  several  furnaces  on  the  Maramec  River,  working 
mostly  brown  hematite  ores,  but  I  have  no  information  as  to 
their  operations. 

At  Birmingham,  on  the  Mississippi  River,  about  120  miles 
below  St.  Louis,  are  valuable  deposits  of  brown  hematite ; 
the  ore  occurs  in  abundance,  and  is  of  good  quality.  Nothing 
had  been  done  in  1852  towards  developing  this  important 
locality. 

There  seem  to  be  but  few,  if  any,  beds  of  iron  ore  in  the 
coal-measures  of  this  state,  although  the  explorations  have 
thus  far  been  very  slight. 

IOWA. — But  little  is  known  of  the  character  and  extent  of 
the  iron  ores  contained  in  the  Iowa  coal  formation.  The 
beds  of  coal  are  thin,  and  appear  to  be  hardly  workable. 
Dr.  Owen  speaks  of  continuous  beds  of  iron-stones  of  various 
qualities,  several  inches  in  thickness,  in  the  middle  division 
of  the  coal-field,  but  no  precise  information  is  given  with 
regard  to  them.  The  inference  may  be  drawn,  however, 
that  they  are  hardly  likely  to  be  of  much  value. 

"WISCONSIN. — The  iron  ores  of  the  Lake  Superior  region, 
already  noticed  as  occurring  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of 
Michigan,  continue  into  Wisconsin,  under  the  same  circum- 
stances and  with  the  same  characters  as  in  the  former  state. 
According  to  Mr.  Whittlesey,  however,  the  position  of  the 
nearest  workable  beds  thus  far  discovered  is  such  that  they 
would  be  of  no  value  at  present.  The  distance  from  Lake 
Superior  of  the  best  exposures  of  ores  is  from  eighteen  to 

31 


482  IRON    IN    CANADA. 

twenty-eight  miles,  through  an  entirely  uninhabited  country. 
The  abundance  of  the  deposits  of  iron  ores  through  the  whole 
of  this  region  is  so  great,  that  for  a  long  time  to  come  only 
those  which  are  most  favorably  situated  with  respect  to 
navigable  water  will  be  worked. 

The  most  promising  locality  of  ore  in  the  state,  thus  far 
known,  is  in  Dodge  County,  at  the  so-called  "Iron  Ridge." 
It  is  a  peroxide,  having  an  oolitic  structure,  and  forming  a 
heavy  bed  in  rocks  apparently  of  the  age  of  the  Clinton 
group  of  New  York.  The  quality  seems  to  be  good  and 
the  quantity  abundant.  A  rolling  mill  and  blast  furnace 
have  recently  been  erected  here,  being  the  only  ones  in 
operation  in  the  state,  so  far  as  I  have  learned. 

The  iron  ores  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  must  eventually 
become  of  great  importance,  since  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
population  in  numbers  and  wealth  indicates  an  immense 
future  consumption  of  this  metal,  which  can  be  nowhere  so 
economically  manufactured  as  here.  The  extension  of  a 
network  of  railroads  through  the  vast  region  west  of  the 
Mississippi  will  create  a  demand  for  iron,  which  will  not  fail 
to  lead  to  the  development  of  the  rich  mineral  resources  of 
the  northwest. 

CANADA. — The  British  Provinces  of  North  America  abound 
in  various  ores,  although  their  mineral  resources  have  hardly 
yet  begun  to  be  developed.  An  interesting  collection  of 
their  ores  of  iron  was  exhibited  by  Mr.  Logan,  the  Provincial 
Geologist,  at  the  Great  Exhibition  in  1852.  From  his  account 
of  them,  it  appears  that  the  magnetic  and  specular  oxides  are 
most  abundantly  distributed  throughout  the  Provinces.  They 
occur  chiefly  in  a  formation  consisting  of  gneiss  inter  stratified 
with  important  bands  of  a  highly  crystallized  limestone,  which 
sweeps  through  the  Province  from  Lake  Huron  to  Labrador, 
and  connects  near  the  Thousand  Islands  with  the  great  azoic 
district  of  New  York,  already  noticed  as  so  rich  in  iron  ores. 

The  ore  of  Canada,  as  in  New  York,  forms  immense  beds, 
interstratified  with  the  gneiss,  and  dipping  at  a  high  angle. 
In  the  township  of  Marmora  there  is  a  bed  100  feet  in  thick- 
ness. In  Madoe  there  is  one  which  has  been  traced  for 
several  miles  and  found  to  have  a  breadth  of  25  feet.  This 


STATISTICS    OF    IRON.  483 

locality  has  been  worked  to  some  extent.  At  Myer's  Lake, 
in  South  Sherbrooke,  there  is  a  sixty-foot  bed.  In  South 
Crosby  a  mass  of  ore  200  feet  in  thickness  is  also  mentioned. 

The  ores  from  these  localities  are  usually  the  magnetic, 
containing  from  60  to  70  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron  ;  and, 
being  found  in  the  midst  of  a  region  abounding  in  wood  and 
water-power,  they  cannot  fail  to  become  at  some  future  day 
of  great  value.  Specular  iron  ore  is  also  abundant.  At 
Macnab  it  occurs  in  a  bed  25  feet  thick,  and  most  favorably 
situated  in  every  respect. 

In  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia  the  richness  and  abun- 
dance of  the  ores  is  also  remarkable,  and  fuel  in  the  form  of 
wood  and  coal  is  extensively  distributed. 

An  account,  imperfect,  it  is  true,  has  thus  been  given  of 
the  distribution  of  the  ores  of  iron  through  the  United  States. 
The  magnitude  of  the  subject  prevents  its  being  treated  with 
any  detail,  and  unfortunately  the  materials  arc  wanting  to 
enable  us  to  exhibit  the  manufacture  in  its  present  state  of 
development.  The  localities  of  the  latter  arc  so  widely  dis- 
tributed over  a  vast  extent  of  country  that  it  is  beyond  the 
power  of  any  individual  to  visit  them  all,  or  to  collect  com- 
plete statistics  of  them.  For  a  general  summing  up  we  are 
obliged  to  depend  on  the  returns  of  the  Census  of  1850, 
which,  unreliable  as  they  confessedly  are,  may  yet  be  taken 
as  a  general  guide.  And  for  the  purpose  of  convenient  refer- 
ence, the  two  annexed  tables  are  reprinted,  in  a  slightly 
modified  form,  from  Mr.  Kennedy's  Abstract  of  the  Seventh 
Census.  The  first  gives  detailed  statistics  of  the  production 
of  pig  iron  in  the  different  states  of  the  Union ;  the  second 
does  the  same  with  respect  to  the  manufacture  of  wrought 
iron.  A  third,  which  has  not  been  deemed  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  be  presented  here  in  full,  exhibits  the  condition 
of  the  manufacture  of  castings :  it  shows  that  there  were  in 
operation,  in  twenty-nine  states,  1391  establishments,  employ- 
ing 23,489  persons,  working  up  356,969  tons  of  pig  and  old 
iron  and  9850  tons  of  ore,  and  producing  322,745  tons  of 
castings,  which  were  valued,  along  with  other  products,  at 
$25,108,155. 


•spnp 
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O^tiCOO^OOOOl^OOO 
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O  --i  CO  r—  <M  t^  ?^  O  'ti  i^r-i  CO  O  T  I- 
i  O  t^  LO  (M  r-<  lO  <M  l^  O  O  (M  IO  l^  T-I  C<l 
COCOON  CO 


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oooo      o 
oooo      o 

OOC5O        O 


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486  COAL    FIELDS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

The  following  is  a  comparison  of  the  principal  results  of 
the  Census  of  1840,  and  that  of  1850 :— * 

Census  of  Census  of 

1840.  1850. 

Number  of  blast  furnaces  in  the  United  States,       .            804  377 

Tons  of  pig  iron  produced, 280,903  504,755 

Rolling  mills,  bloomeries,  and  forges,      .         .         .            795  422 

Tons  of  wrought  iron  produced,     ....     197,233  278,044 

I3y  the  Census  of  1850,  it  appears  that  there  were,  of  the 
thirty-one  states,  ten  in  which  no  blast  furnaces  were  in 
operation,  and  twelve  which  were  without  any  works  for  the 
manufacture  of  wrought  iron.  Of  these  non-producing 
states,  almost  all  are  known  to  contain  abundant  deposits  of 
iron  ore,  and  several  of  them  possess  extensive  coal-fields,  so 
that  the  time  cannot  be  far  distant  when  some  of  them  will 
take  their  places  among  the  first  in  this  branch  of  industry. 

Closely  connected  with  the  richness  and  abundance  of  our 
iron  deposits,  is  the  extent  of  our  coal-fields,  in  respect  to 
which  we  take  precedence  of  all  other  nations.  In  Mr. 
Taylor's  work,  the  coal  area  known  to  exist  in  the  United 
States  is  set  down  as  133,132  square  miles.  This,  however, 
does  not  include  the  Iowa  and  Missouri,  and  the  Arkansas 
coal-fields.  It  is  true  that  little  is  yet  known  of  their  actual 
value,  so  far  as  workable  thickness  and  quality  of  the  coal  are 
concerned,  but  the  results  of  Dr.  Owen's  survey  have  given 
us  a  better  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  territory  underlaid 
by  the  coal  formation,  and  it  appears  that  there  cannot  be 
less  than  50,000  square  miles  occupied  by  the  coal-measures 
to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
organized  states :  this,  added  to  Mr.  Taylor's  amount,  after 
deducting  6000,  the  number  allowed  by  him  for  Missouri, 
would  give  in  round  numbers  177,000  square  miles  of  coal 
area  within  the  borders  of  the  thirty-one  states.  Consider- 
ing the  immense  development  of  our  coal-fields,  and  the 
quantity  of  our  iron  ores  of  every  possible  variety,  it  is 
difficult  to  set  any  limits  to  our  possible  production  of  iron. 

*  The  discrepancies  of  these  two  statements  are  self-evident.  The  Census  of 
1840  was  notoriously  inaccurate  and  unreliable;  that  of  1850  is  probably  some- 
what more  to  be  depended  on. 


PRODUCTION    OF    IRON.  487 

The  facilities  of  internal  communication  by  canal  or  steam- 
boat and  railroad,  already  ample,  are  daily  increasing,  and 
new  works  are  constructing  to  bring  every  section  of  the 
country  into  connection  with  the  nearest  and  most  valuable 
coal  and  iron  districts.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  with  truth, 
that  in  our  capacity  for  producing  this  most  important  metal 
we  are  unrivalled. 

The  estimates  which  have  been  made  at  various  times  of 
our  production  are  as  follows : — 


1810,   . 

Tons. 

54,000 

1842,   . 

Tons. 
.   215,000 

1828,   . 
1829,   . 
1830, 

.  130,000 
.  142,000 
.  ]  65,000 

1845,   . 

184G,   . 
1847, 

.  480,000 
.  705,000 
800.000 

1831,   . 
1832, 
1840,   . 

.  191,500 
.  200,000 
.  347,000 

1849,   . 
1850,   . 

.  800,000 
.  000,000 

The  figures  for  the  years  from  1810  to  1832  are  compiled 
from  the  published  statements  of  II.  C.  Carey  and  R.  C. 
Taylor.  That  of  1840  is  the  result  of  an  inquiry  made  by 
the  Commission  of  the  Home  League  in  New  York.  It  is 
larger  by  61,000  tons  than  the  amount  given  by  the  Census, 
but  is  probably  nearer  the  truth.  For  1846,  the  estimate 
was  made  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  from  returns 
collected  officially.  The  Commission  of  the  Pennsylvania 
iron  masters  give  800,000  tons  as  the  production  of  1849. 

Within  the  last  year  or  two  the  manufacture,  which  had 
been  in  a  very  depressed  condition,  has  greatly  increased, 
and  bids  fair  to  equal  nearly  1,000,000  tons  during  the  pre- 
sent year. 

In  closing  this  chapter,  the  statistics  of  the  produce  of 
iron  throughout  the  world  will  be  given,  in  the  same  form  as 
heretofore.  An  inconsiderable  amount  of  this  metal  is 
manufactured  in  some  of  the  Asiatic  and  South  American 
countries,  but  principally  for  local  consumption,  and  as  no 
detailed  information  can  be  given  with  regard  to  the  quan- 
tity, they  have  been  omitted  from  the  table. 


488 


STATISTICS    OF    IRON. 


"K 

Year. 

d 

C 

K* 

s 

E 
s 

_d 

g 

'S 

£ 

ra 

'5b 

2 

5 

3 

> 

^0 

t- 

'o 

g 

y 

pel 

tt 

o 

H 

c- 

yj 

1800, 

180,000 

1810, 

294,642 

1820, 

368.000 

1825, 

581^367 

1830, 

179,850 

678,417 

44.409  av. 

1835, 

104,785 

1,000.000 

58,926  " 

4;371 

1840, 
1845, 

168,975  av. 

133,675 

8,119 

1,396,400 
1,512,500 

106.878 
220,000 

98.402  " 
102,174  •« 

1846, 

115.216 

1847, 

1.998,558 

135.731 

1848, 

2.093.736 

125.916 

7.140 

1849, 

188,337  av. 

122,925 

115.254 

6,591 

1850, 

147,295 

5,000 

2.380,000 

132,873 

1851, 

2.500,000 

145,519 

6,979 

1852, 

2,701,000 

i/3 

.-5 

| 

Year. 

rt 

S 

2 

• 

5 

5 

£ 

'§! 

H 

•^ 

'^ 

3 

55 

Ki 

< 

>^ 

y. 

fa 

S 

1810, 

54,000 

182-i, 

75,783  av. 

170.000 

1830, 

88,979  " 

262,165 

165,000 

1835, 

96,138  " 

289.985 

1840, 

132.597  " 

342.278 

315,000 

1845, 

172,385  " 

29;034 

441,876 

502,000 

1846, 

531.750 

765,000 

1847. 

70,000 

197,713 

40,053 

522.386 

800,000 

1848, 

201,350 

1849, 

29,715 

514.172 

650.000 

1850, 

14500 

22.500 

600.000 

The  present  production  of  this  metal  in  Europe  and  the 
United  States  may  be  estimated  as  follows : — 


Russian  Empire, 
Sweden  and  Norway, 
Great  Britain,    .... 
Belgium,  ..... 

Tons. 

200,000 
155,000 
.     3,000,000 
300.000 

Relative 
Amount. 

3-4 

2-7 
51-6 
5-2 

Prussia.     
Saxony,     
Austrian  Empire, 
Rest  of  Germany, 
Switzerland,      .... 

150,000 
7,000 
225,000 
100,000 
15000 

2-6 

•1 
39 
1-7 
•2 

France,     ..... 

000,000 
40000 

103 

•7 

Italy,         
United  States,  .... 

25,000 
.     1,000,000 

•4 

17-2 

5,817,000       1000 


IMPORTS    OF    IRON. 


489 


If  we  adopt  Heron  de  Villefosse's  estimate  of  the  produc- 
tion of  iron  throughout  the  world  in  1808,  namely  740,000 
tons,  we  find  that  the  manufacture  of  this  metal  has  in- 
creased nearly  eight-fold  in  the  last  half  century.  Great 
Britain  alone  produces  above  one-half  of  the  iron  of  the 
world,  and  next  in  the  list  stands  our  own  country,  furnish- 
ing a  little  more  than  one-sixth  of  the  whole  amount. 

Great  as  i$  our  production  of  iron,  it  by  no  means  suffices 
for  our  consumption,  as  the  annexed  table  of  imports  for  the 
years  1849-52  will  show. 


Pig,  Old  and  Scrap, 
Castings. 

Bar  and  Wrought. 

Steel. 

Manufac- 
tures. 

Total 
Value. 

Tons. 

Value.' 

Tons. 

Value. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Value. 

1849, 
1850, 
1851, 
1852, 

115,028 
86.034 

75^837 
99,654 

$1,564,951 
1,189,469 
919.526 
1,052,635 

196,343 

279.875 
298.024 
356,383 

$7,162,640 
9,042,433 
9.228,702 
10,923,654 

6,349 
6,116 

7,803 
9,027 

$1,172,094 
1.292,060 
1,531,692 
1,672,030 

$15,010,676 
6,000,497 
7,058,182 
6,846,767 

814,910,361 
17,524,459 
18.738,102 
20.495,086 

In  order  to  show  from  what  countries  our  demand  for  iron 
is  supplied,  the  following  detailed  statement  of  our  imports 
of  this  metal  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1852,  the  latest 
for  which  the  returns  have  been  published,  is  appended. 


Imported  from 

Kind. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Value.  " 

Great  Britain,  . 

pig,          .... 

91,149 

$927,05£ 

<(           u 

old  and  scrap, 

0,049 

81,554 

u              a 

castings, 

351 

18.114 

u              u 

bar,         .... 

318,230 

8,907,009 

11                    U 

wrought  (rods,  hoop,  sheet), 

19,125 

798,140 

U                    i> 

steel,       .... 

S,550 

1.029,222 

u              u 

manufactures, 

0,005,918 



18,487,072 

Sweden  and  Norway, 

bar,         .... 

14.104 

751,050 

u                             u 

steel,      .... 

305 

22,024 

773074 

Russia, 

bar,        .... 

142 

7,984 

it 

sheet,     .... 

2,315 

312,100 



320,090 

Belgium, 

manufactures, 

424,049 

a 

098 

424,747 

France,   . 

manufactures, 

. 

240,790 

u 

other,      .... 

. 

2,037 



243.427 

Other  countries 

411,982 

Total, $20,001,592 


490 


EXPORTS    OF    IRON, 


In  this  statement  the  unimportant  amounts  re-exported 
have  been  taken  no  note  of,  which  explains  the  discrepancy 
between  the  sum  given  here  and  that  in  the  table  above.  It 
will  be  seen  that  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  this  metal 
which  we  import  comes  to  us  from  England.  Sweden  and 
Norway  furnish  a  comparatively  small  quantity  of  the  finer 
kinds  of  bar  iron,  and  Russia  supplies  us  with  the  pecu- 
liar sheet  iron  which  she  alone  has  the  secret  of  manu- 
facturing. From  Belgium  and  France  WTC  draw  a  small 
amount  of  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel,  but  no  unmanu- 
factured iron.  From  all  other  sources  our  supply  is  entirely 
insignificant. 

That  our  commerce  in  iron,  however,  is  not  entirely  con- 
fined to  importation,  will  be  made  evident  by  the  next-follow- 
ing table,  which  exhibits  the  amount  and  value  of  the  iron 
and  manufactures  of  iron,  the  production  of  this  country, 
exported  during  the  same  period  of  four  years.  Though  the 
items  are  small  as  compared  with  those  of  our  importation, 
they  are  not  insignificant,  and  bid  fair  steadily  to  increase  in 
importance. 


Pi?. 

Castings. 

Nails. 

Wrought. 

Manufac- 
tures. 

Total 
Value. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Tons. 

Value. 

Tons. 

Value. 

1849,  .  . 
1850,  .  . 
1851,  .  . 
1852,  .  . 

83 
25 
351 

105 

$60,175 
79.318 
164,425 
191.388 

1,400 
1,703 
2,366 
1,620 

$149,358 
154,210 
215.652 
118,624 

251 
388 
215 
8,316 

$886.639 
1,677,792 
1,875.621 
1,993,807 

§51,110,500 
1,931,500 
2,273,500 
2,720.000 

Nothing  is  better  calculated  to  impress  us  with  the  im- 
mense material  progress  of  the  United  States  than  the  vie\v 
thus  afforded  of  our  consumption  of  iron,  and  the  rapidity 
of  its  increase.  In  1852  we  imported  nearly  half  a  million 
tons  of  iron  and  steel  in  their  various  forms ;  our  consump- 
tion must  have  amounted  in  1849  to  over  1,100,000  tons, 
and  has  been  increasing  since  that  with  rapidity,  so  that  it 
cannot  now  fall  much  below  1,500,000  tons. 


CHAPTER  X. 

METALS  NOT  USED  IN  THEIR  SIMPLE  METALLIC  FORM. 

FOR  convenience  of  description,  the  metals  included  under 
this  head  will  be  arranged  in  the  following  order  : — 

I.  Metals  used  chiefly  in  alloy  with  other  metals.     BIS- 
MUTH, ANTIMONY,  NICKEL. 

II.  Metals  used  chiefly  in  a  non-metallic  form.     COBALT, 
ARSENIC,  MANGANESE,  CHROMIUM,  TITANIUM,  MOLYBDENUM, 
URANIUM,  TUNGSTEN. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  these  metals  are  of  very  minor  im- 
portance, compared  with  those  which  have  been  hitherto 
described ;  but  as  they  are  all  more  or  less  objects  of  com- 
merce, and  all  occur  in  this  country,  it  would  not  be  proper 
to  pass  them  by  unnoticed  in  this  work.  Their  production 
is  quite  limited  in  quantity,  and  dependent  on  the  demand, 
and  statistics  in  regard  to  them  cannot  usually  be  given. 

BISMUTH. 

Bismuth  is  a  metal  which  possesses  two  qualities  rendering 
it  of  no  value  by  itself  in  the  metallic  state ;  it  is  brittle,  and 
fuses  at  a  veiy  low  temperature,  476°,  F.  It  has  a  grayish- 
white  color,  with  a  slight  tinge  of  red,  and  a  crystalline 
fracture.  No  metal  shows  a  greater  tendency  to  take  the 
crystalline  form ;  beautiful  crystals  may  be  obtained  by  fusing 
a  quantity  in  a  Hessian  crucible,  allowing  it  to  cool  very 
gradually,  and  then  piercing  a  hole  in  the  solidified  crust 
and  pouring  off  the  still  liquid  metal,  when  the  interior  will 
be  found  lined  with  crystals.  The  bismuth  of  commerce  is 
never  entirely  pure:  it  contains  silver,  sometimes  in  con- 
siderable quantity,  iron,  lead,  arsenic,  and  other  substances. 

Native  Bismuth.     The   native  metal  is  found  chiefly  in 


492  BISMUTH. 

foliated  masses  and  scales;  also  in  reticulated  and  arborescent 
forms.  The  bismuth  of  commerce  is  chiefly  obtained  from 
this  source.  Its  principal  localities  are  in  the  Saxon  and 
Bohemian  mines  of  the  Erzgebirge. 

Bismuthine.  A  sulphuret  of  bismuth  containing  18-49  of 
sulphur,  and  81-51  of  the  metal.  It  is  found  in  Cornwall 
and  Cumberland,  Eng.,  at  Altenberg  and  Schneeberg,  in 
Saxony,  and  elsewhere,  but  not  in  sufficient  abundance  to  be 
considered  valuable  as  an  ore. 

Bismuth  Ochre.  An  oxide  of  the  metal,  which  occurs  in 
small  quantity,  in  a  pulverulent  form.  It  accompanies  other 
ores  of  bismuth  at  the  Saxon  mines. 

Bismuth  Blende.     This  is,  mainly,  a  silicate  of  bismuth. 

Bismutite.  A  carbonate  of  bismuth ;  this  and  the  last- 
mentioried  ore  occur  at  Schneeberg,  and  are  the  products  of 
decomposition  of  the  native  metal. 

Bismuth  is  also  found,  in  nature,  in  combination  with 
copper  arid  sulphur,  as  cupreous  bismuth ;  with  lead,  copper, 
and  sulphur  in  the  mineral  known  as  aciculite  or  needle  ore, 
from  its  delicate  acicular  crystallizations ;  with  tellurium  in 
the  mineral  tetradymite  and  Bornite. 

All  the  ores  of  bismuth  occur  in  small  quantity,  although 
found  in  numerous  localities.  Nothing  can  be  more  simple 
than  the  metallurgic  treatment  of  this  metal ;  it  is  separated 
from  the  ore  by  fusion  in  iron  tubes  laid  obliquely  across  the 
furnace,  and  from  which  it  flows  down  into  iron  pots. 

The  metal  bismuth  is  of  quite  modern  use ;  it  was  first 
recognized  as  a  distinct  metal  about  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  by  the  distinguished  mineralogist  and  miner, 
George  Bauer,  commonly  called  Agricola.  Its  introduction 
into  commerce  and  the  arts  dates  from  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century.  The  principal  consumption  of  it  is  in  some 
kinds  of  type  and  stereotype  metal,  and  to  impart  fusibility 
to  various  alloys  of  lead  and  tin.  Its  only  use  in  the  non- 
metallic  form  is  as  a  cosmetic ;  pearl  powder,  or  the  subnitrate 
of  this  metal  being  an  article  of  commerce. 

The  principal  supply  of  bismuth  is  from  Saxony,  where  it 
occurs  with  ores  of  cobalt,  nickel,  silver,  and  other  metals. 
At  the  furnace  in  the  Schneeberg  district,  the  production  in 


ANTIMONY.  493 

1851  was  20,250  Ibs.,  of  which  17,850  Ibs.  wore  sold  for  about 
$8,250.  The  nickel  works  of  Oberschlema  produced  during 
the  same  year  4700  Ibs.  of  this  metal. 

In  this  country,  bismuth  has  been  found  in  several  localities, 
although  only  in  small  quantity.  At  Lane's  Mine,  in  Mon- 
roe, Connecticut,  the  native  metal  occurs  associated  with 
wolfram,  tungstate  of  lime,  galena,  and  blende.  It  has  also 
been  found  at  Brewer's  Mine,  in  Chesterfield  District,  South 
Carolina.  The  sulphuret  is  said  to  have  been  observed  at 
Haddam,  Connecticut.  Carbonate  of  bismuth  occurs  in 
some  of  the  South  Carolina  gold  mines  in  small  quantity, 
and  the  telluret  has  been  observed  in  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina. 

ANTIMONY. 

Antimony  is  a  metal  of  considerable  importance  in  the 
arts,  although  never  used  in  its  simple  metallic  state.  It  is 
of  a  silvery-white  color,  with  a  faint  tinge  of  blue,  has  a 
brilliant  lustre  and  a  coarsely  crystalline  fracture,  and  is  very 
brittle.  It  fuses  at  a  temperature  a  little  above  that  of  zinc ; 
if  strongly  heated,  it  boils  and  is  volatilized.  From  its  pro- 
perty of  rendering  the  softer  metals  harder  and  more  brittle 
when  alloyed  with  them,  even  in  small  quantity,  it  is  used  in 
a  variety  of  combinations. 

Native  Antimony.  The  native  metal  is  not  of  frequent 
occurrence.  It  was  first  discovered  in  the  Sala  lead  mines  of 
Sweden,  and  has  also  been  found  in  the  Harz,  at  Przibram 
in  Bohemia,  and  other  places. 

Antimony  Glance,  Sulphuret  of  Antimony.  This  ore  con- 
tains 27-11  of  sulphur  and  72-89  of  antimony.  It  is  the  ore 
from  which  nearly  all  the  antimony  of  commerce  is  obtained. 

Berthierite  is  a  mixture  of  the  sulphurets  of  iron  and  anti- 
mony. The  metal  produced  from  this  ore  is  of  inferior 
quality. 

Arsenical  Antimony.  An  arseniuret  of  antimony ;  a  rare 
ore. 

Two  combinations  of  antimony  with  oxygen  occur  sparingly 
in  nature.  They  are,  White  Antimony,  which  contains  one 
equivalent  of  antimony  to  three  of  oxygen,  or  15-68  of  oxygen 


494  ANTIMONY. 

to  84*32  of  metal,  and  Stiblite,  an  oxide  with  four  atoms  of 
oxygen  to  one  of  metal,  together  with  a  small  percentage  of 
water. 

Red  Antimony  is  a  combination  of  the  oxide  and  sulphuret 
of  antimony. 

A  great  number  of  other  minerals  contain  a  considerable 
proportion  of  this  metal  in  the  form  of  antimonio-sulphurets. 
Some  of  them  are  enumerated  under  lead.  There  are  also 
compounds  of  antimony  and  nickel,  but  none  are  of  import- 
ance as  ores  of  antimony. 

The  supply  of  antimony  comes  chiefly  from  Borneo,  where 
the  quantity  of  the  ore  is  said  to  be  unlimited.  About  1400 
tons  of  this  metal  are  said  by  M'Culloch  to  be  annually  ex- 
ported from  that  island  to  Singapore,  where  it  is  sold  at  from 
16s.  to  20s.  per  ton. 

In  this  country  the  ores  of  antimony  appear  to  be  quite 
rare.  It  is  said  to  occur  in  small  quantity  at  Carmel,  Penob- 
scot  County,  Maine,  and  at  Cornish  and  Lyme  in  ^"ew 
Hampshire.  For  the  present,  at  least,  no  country  can  com- 
pete with  Borneo  in  supplying  the  demand  for  it. 

Prussia  and  Austria,  however,  furnish  a  small  quantity; 
the  former  country  produced,  in  1849,  73,500  Ibs.,  and  the 
latter,  in  1848,  539,000  Ibs. 

The  alloys  of  antimony  used  in  the  arts  are  numerous  and 
valuable.  The  most  common  is  type-metal,  which  is  a  mix- 
ture of  lead  with  from  17  to  20  per  cent,  of  antimony.  The 
proportion  of  the  latter  metal  is  diminished  as  the  size  of  the 
type  increases.  Tin,  bismuth,  or  copper,  are  occasionally 
added  in  small  quantity.  Britannia-ware  is  a  variable  com- 
pound of  copper,  tin,  brass,  and  antimony.  Antimony  is 
also  in  common  use  as  an  ingredient  in  the  alloy  known  as 
"  anti-friction  metal,"  for  machinery  bearings,  pillow-blocks, 
railway  locomotive  axle-boxes,  and  the  like.  These  are 
mostly  alloys  of  antimony  and  tin.  An  English  locomotive- 
bearing  metal  yielded,  on  analysis,  26  per  cent,  of  antimony, 
72  of  tin,  and  2  of  copper.  A  patent  alloy  for  sheathing  con- 
sists of  lead  with  about  three  per  cent,  of  antimony.  It  does 
not  seem  to  have  come  into  use.  Antimony  is  said  to  harden 


NICKEL.  495 

and  improve  the  quality  of  pewter,  but  is  not  generally  used 
in  that  very  common  alloy. 

The  use  of  antimony  in  medicine  is  well  known. 

NICKEL. 

The  occurrence  of  metallic  nickel  in  nature  is  confined 
exclusively  to  bodies  of  extra-terrestrial  origin,  commonly 
called  meteoric  iron.  Such  masses  are  not  unfrequently 
found,  and  consist  of  an  alloy  of  iron  and  nickel,  the  latter 
metal  forming  usually  from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 
This  metal,  as  produced  artificially,  is  hard,  takes  a  high 
polish,  is  quite  ductile,  and  has  a  specific  gravity  of  from  8*2 
to  8*6.  Its  color  is  white,  with  a  light  shade  of  gray. 

The  following  minerals  contain  it  in  combination. 

Millerite,  Capillary  Pyrites.  A  sulphuret  of  nickel,  contain- 
ing sulphur  35*63  and  nickel  64*37.  It  occurs  usually  in 
delicate  capillary  crystallizations.  Not  sufficiently  abundant 
to  be  valuable  as  an  ore. 

Copper  Nickel,  Kupfer  Nickel.  An  arseniuret  of  nickel, 
which  contains  arsenic  55*98  and  nickel  44*02.  This  is  the 
most  important  ore  of  this  metal.  It  frequently  contains  a 
little  iron,  lead,  and  sulphur,  also  cobalt. 

Breithauptite,  Antimoniuret  of  Nickel ;  very  rare. 

Rammelsbergite,  Arseniuret  of  Nickel ;  occurs  occasionally 
with  other  ores  of  this  metal. 

Nickel  Glance.  A  number  of  different  minerals  arc  included 
under  this  name;  they  consist  mainly  of  arsenic,  sulphur, 
nickel,  and  iron.  This  is  one  of  the  ores  most  usually  found 
in  sufficient  abundance  to  be  worked. 

Ullmannite.  A  sulpharseniuret  of  nickel,  containing  about 
25  per  cent,  of  the  latter.  It  is  found  in  some  quantity  in 
the  German  mines. 

Placodine,  Arseniuret  of  Nickel ;  rare. 

Bismuth  Nickel;  a  rare  combination. 

Emerald  Nickel  is  a  carbonate  of  this  metal,  and  Nickel 
Green  an  arseniate ;  both  of  them  are  products  of  decomposi- 
tion of  the  usual  ores. 

The  two  metals  cobalt  and  nickel  have  a  remarkable 
similarity  to  each  other,  and  this  resemblance  extends  to 


496  NICKEL. 

their  combinations ;  they  are  almost  invariably  found  in 
company. 

Nickel  is  not  only  obtained  from  its  ores  proper,  but  is 
also  separated  from  the  peculiar  arsenical  product  of  the 
metallurgic  treatment  of  nickeliferous  ores  of  lead,  copper, 
and  cobalt,  which  is  called  sperse.  It  is  only  since  the  dis- 
covery of  the  alloy  called  in  this  country  German-silver,  and 
in  Germany  new-silver,  or  argentan,  that  this  metal  has  be- 
come an  object  of  much  importance.  The  separation  of  it 
from  its  ores  is  a  complicated  and  difficult  process,  of  which 
many  of  the  details  are  kept  secret  by  the  manufacturers. 
The  best  German-silver  is  an  alloy  of  8  parts  of  copper,  3  of 
nickel,  and  3J  of  zinc.  The  larger  the  quantity  of  nickel, 
the  harder  and  whiter  the  alloy.  The  proportions  used  differ 
greatly,  and  there  are  various  names  for  the  different  pro- 
ducts. The  use  of  nickel  was  probably  introduced  from 
China ;  their  white  copper  contains  31'6  nickel,  40*4  copper, 
25-4  zinc,  and  2*6  iron. 

A  very  large  quantity  of  nickel  is  manufactured  in  Bir- 
mingham; the  ores  there  worked  are  obtained  principally 
from  Norway  and  Hungary.  In  the  former  country,  a  mine 
has  been  worked  at  Espedalen  for  some  time,  by  an  English 
house,  and,  in  two  years,  370  tons  of  ore  have  been  sent  to 
England.  On  the  Continent,  the  manufacture  of  nickel  is 
carried  on  in  Saxony  and  Prussia.  In  Saxony,  the  amount 
produced  in  1851  was  20,540  Ibs. ;  in  Prussia,  it  varied,  be- 
tween 184T  to  1849,  from  4500  to  9000  Ibs. 

The  principal  locality  of  the  ores  of  nickel  and  cobalt  in 
this  country  is  at  Chatham,  Connecticut,  where  they  are 
found  in  veins  traversing  gneiss  and  mica  slate.  The  minerals 
occurring  there  are  copper,  nickel,  smaltine,  and  Eammels- 
bergite.  A  company  has  been  recently  organized  to  open  a 
mine  at  this  place.  In  their  printed  report,  it  is  stated  that 
the  washed  ores  yield  from  13  to  18  per  cent,  of  a  mixture 
of  the  oxides  of  cobalt  and  nickel,  in  nearly  equal  quantities. 
The  ore  as  taken  from  the  lode  is  stated  to  contain  2-2  per 
cent,  of  the  mixed  oxides. 

The  existence  of  these^ores  at  this  point  has  been  long 
known,  and  a  vein  has  been  wrought  here  at  different  times. 


COBALT.  497 

Governor  "VVintlirop  is  believed  to  have  been  the  discoverer 
of  the  locality.  Later,  in  1787,  a  quantity  of  the  cobalt  ore 
was  taken  out  by  a  Mr.  Erkeleus,  and  still  later,  in  1818,  a 
considerable  amount  was  expended  here  by  Mr.  Seth  Hunt, 
and  more  recently  by  Prof.  Shepherd,  the  State  Geologist. 
In  his  report,  the  vein  is  described  as  being  probably  about 
one  foot  wide,  and  consisting  of  an  aggregate  of  quartz, 
garnet,  and  hornblende.  The  principal  ore  was  smaltine, 
and  it  was  accompanied  by  copper,  nickel,  blende,  galena, 
and  a  little* copper  pyrites.  At  the  time  this  mine  was  most 
worked,  nickel  was  very  little  known,  and  had  hardly  any 
value.  If  the  ore  is  really  rich  in  nickel,  it  may  be  of  value, 
as  this  metal  is  now  much  used,  and  would  be  more  so  if  it 
could  be  furnished  in  such  abundance  as  to  reduce  the  price. 
A  small  quantity  of  the  ores  of  nickel  has  been  obtained  in 
connection  with  those  of  cobalt,  at  Mine  La  Motte ;  the  sup- 
ply from  this  locality  is  very  limited. 

COBALT. 

Cobalt  does  not  occur  in  the  native  state,  but  is  usually 
found  in  combination  with  arsenic  or  sulphur,  and  sometimes 
with  antimony  and  bismuth.  It  is  never  used  in  the  arts  in 
its  metallic  state ;  but  as  prepared  artificially,  the  metal  is  a 
hard  and  slightly  malleable  substance,  of  a  reddish  gray 
color,  and  a  specific  gravity  of  about  8*5.  The  only  use  to 
which  cobalt  has  been  applied  in  the  arts,  as  yet,  depends  on 
the  property  which  its  oxide  has  of  imparting  a  beautiful  and 
permanent  blue  to  glass. 

The  principal  combinations  in  which  cobalt  occurs  are  as 
follows : — 

Sycpoorite,  Subsulphuret  of  Cobalt;  containing  sulphur 
35*36,  and  cobalt  64-64 ;  it  occurs  only  in  India,  where  it  is 
used  by  the  natives. 

Smaltine,  Gray  Cobalt ;  an  arseniuret  of  cobalt,  containing, 
when  pure,  arsenic  71-81,  and  cobalt  28-19 ;  but  a  portion  of 
the  cobalt  is  generally  replaced  by  nickel,  and  always  by  a 
portion  of  iron.  This  is  the  chief  ore  of  cobalt,  and  it  occurs 
in  numerous  localities. 

Cobaltine,  Cobalt  Glance.  This  is  a  sulpharseniuret  of 

32 


498  COBALT. 

cobalt,  containing  sulphur,  19-35,  arsenic,  45*18,  and 
cobalt,  35-47 ;  it  almost  always  has  more  or  less  iron  in  its 
composition.  This  is  another  important  ore  which  occurs  at 
most  of  the  cobalt  localities. 

G-laucodote.  This  is  an  ore  containing  a  sulpharseniuret 
of  cobalt  and  iron  ;  it  occurs  in  Chili,  in  the  province  of 
Huasco. 

Linnceite,  Cobalt  Pyrites.  A  sulphuret  of  cobalt,  contain- 
ing sulphur,  44-98,  and  cobalt,  55-02.  It  is  frequently  asso- 
ciated with  the  other  cobalt  ores.  Skuterudite  is  another 
sulphuret,  with  79-26  of  arsenic,  and  20-74  of  cobalt. 

Cobalt  Vitriol,  Sulphate  of  Cobalt ;  found  as  a  product  of 
the  decomposition  of  other  cobalt  ores,  in  small  quantity. 

Cobalt  Bloom.  A  hydrated  arseniate  of  cobalt,  containing 
38-43  arsenic  acid,  37*55  oxide  of  cobalt,  and  24-02  water. 
This  is  another  product  of  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphar- 
seniurets. 

Before  the  introduction  of  artificial  ultramarine,  the  manu- 
facture of  smalt  and  zaffre  was  of  very  considerable  impor- 
tance. It  was  most  extensively  carried  on  at  Modum  in 
Xorway,  and  in  Saxony. 

The  first  discovery  of  cobalt  in  the  parish  of  Modum  was 
made  in  1772,  on  the  estate  of  Skuterud,  which  was  pur- 
chased by  the  king,  and  works  were  established  there  in 
1783,  under  German  management.*  From  1827  to  1840, 
the  manufacture  was  carried  on  here  by  a  private  company, 
and  was  well-managed  and  productive,  until  the  introduction 
of  artificial  ultramarine  completely  ruined  the  business. 

The  ores  of  this  locality  occur  in  fahlbands  in  the  gneiss, 
a  mode  of  occurrence  characteristic  of  the  sulphurets  in 
Scandinavia.  There  are  two  groups  of  mines,  but  both  are 
in  the  same  metalliferous  belt.  The  chief  ore  is  cobaltine  or 
cobalt  glance,  which  frequently  occurs  crystallized,  and 
cobaltiferous  mispickel,  which  sometimes  contains  as  much 
as  10  per  cent,  of  cobalt.  The  ores  of  copper  also  abound, 
especially  copper  pyrites  and  variegated  copper  ore.  Besides 
this,  there  is  a  great  variety  of  other  interesting  minerals. 

*  Bobert,  Karsten  and  Dechen's  Arch.  xxi.  207. 


COBALT.  499 

The  dressing  of  the  ores  is  attended  with  great  difficulty, 
since  it  requires  an  experienced  eye  to  detect  the  minute 
particles  of  ore  scattered  through  the  quartz  veinstone. 
Some  of  the  lowest  quality  yield  only  1  or  1 J  per  cent,  clear 
ore,  or  f  to  f  per  cent,  of  regulus.  The  richest  and  purest 
ores,  after  calcination,  are  smelted  with  quartz  and  potash  in 
variable  proportions,  in  order  to  form  zafFre  and  smalt,  which 
are  nothing  but  potash  glass  colored  by  cobalt,  and  ground 
fine.  They  differ  only  in  the  degree  of  fineness  of  the 
powder,  smalt  being  coarser  and  lighter  colored.  The 
poorer  ores  are  subjected  to  a  much  more  complicated  pro- 
cess, the  object  of  which  is  to  concentrate  the  metal,  and 
procure  it  in  the  form  of  a  regulus,  which  is  then  treated  in 
nearly  the  same  manner  as  the  rich  ores.  A  large  quantity 
of  arsenic  is  one  of  the  results  of  the  smelting  processes,  and 
is  a  great  annoyance,  since  it  is  of  no  value,  and  is  in  no 
way  to  be  got  rid  of.  The  different  shades  of  smalt  are  dis- 
tinguished by  letters. 

These  mines  are  said  to  have  made  $500,000  profit  in  the 
twenty  years  of  their  prosperity.  In  the  year  1838-9,  smalt 
and  zafire  to  the  value  of  136,547  silver  species  was  pre- 
pared for  sale.  But  such  was  the  effect  of  the  introduction 
of  artificial  ultramarine,  that  in  1847  the  sales  only  reached 
the  amount  of  about  $35,000.  The  demand  for  smalt  and 
zaffre  in  England  is  still  said  to  be  considerable. 

The  works  and  all  the  property  were  sold  at  auction  in 
July  1849,  and  purchased  by  an  English  firm  for  $130,000. 
The  stock  of  oxide  of  cobalt  sold  for  a  little  over  $2  per 
pound.  What  disposition  has  since  been  made  of  the  wrorks 
has  not  yet  transpired. 

The  cobalt  works  on  the  continent  are  also  in  a  very  de- 
pressed state.  In  the  Saxon  cobalt  works  not  a  pound  was 
sold  during  the  year  1851. 

Chatham,  in  Connecticut,  which  has  already  been  noticed, 
is  one  of  the  principal  localities  of  this  metal  in  the  United 
States.  The  Patapsco  Mine,  in  Maryland,  is  another  locality 
where  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  to  work  cobal- 
tiferous  ores.  It  is  evident  that  in  the  present  state  of  the 
cobalt  business,  the  demand  for  this  metal  being  so  limited,  it 


500  ARSENIC. 

will  be  impossible  for  manufacturers,  on  any  considerable 
scale,  to  compete  with  the  European  establishments  already 
built,  and  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  ore,  where  the  labor 
is  much  cheaper  and  the  skill  greater  than  here.  If  the 
cobalt  ores  contain  nickel,  they  may  be  valuable,  as  the 
demand  for  that  metal  is  considerable.  A  small  quantity  of 
the  cobalt  and  nickel  ore  of  Mine  La  Motte  has  been  worked 
in  Philadelphia,  but  with  what  success  I  am  unable  to  state. 

ARSENIC. 

This  metal  occurs  in  the  native  state.  It  has  a  tin-white 
color,  which  tarnishes  to  dark-gray,  and  an  uneven  and 
granular  fracture :  its  specific  gravity  is  between  5-6  and  5-9. 
It  is  found  in  the  argentiferous  veins  of  the  Erzgebirge  in 
considerable  quantity ;  also  in  the  Harz,  and  in  the  mines  of 
Transylvania  and  the  Banat. 

The  form  in  which  arsenic  is  usually  seen  is  the  powder 
called  white  arsenic ;  this  is  arsenious  acid,  a  combination 
of  the  metal  with  oxygen,  containing  24-24  of  oxygen,  and 
75-76  of  arsenic.  It  occurs  in  nature,  but  not  abundantly, 
being  an  occasional  product  of  the  decomposition  of  arseni- 
cal ores. 

The  most  abundant  arsenical  combinations  are :  realgar, 
or  red  orpiment,  a  sulphuret,  which  contains  70-03  per  cent, 
of  the  metal,  and  29-97  of  sulphur.  It  occurs,  sometimes 
finely  crystallized,  with  ores  of  silver  and  lead,  especially  in 
Hungary,  Transylvania,  and  in  the  Erzgebirge. 

Orpiment  is  the  yellow  sulphuret  of  arsenic,  containing  39 
of  sulphur,  and  61  of  arsenic.  It  occurs  in  considerable 
quantity  in  Koordistan,  also  in  the  Hungarian  and  Transyl- 
vanian  mines. 

Arsenic  is  found  in  combination  with  the  other  metals  in 
great  abundance,  but  is  most  frequently  associated  with  iron. 
The  mineral  called  Leucopyrite  is  an  arseniuret  of  iron,  con- 
taining 72-82  of  arsenic  and  27-18  of  iron.  Mispickel,  an 
arseniuret  and  sulphuret  of  iron,  contains  arsenic  46-01, 
sulphur  19*64,  and  iron  34-35.  It  is  found  in  great  abun- 
dance in  the  older  crystalline  rocks,  associated  with  ores  of 
silver,  lead,  and  especially  tin. 


MANGANESE.  501 

Arsenic  is  used  in  a  variety  of  forms  and  for  many  different 
purposes.  In  combination  with  potash  it  is  consumed  in 
large  quantities  in  calico-printing  establishments.  It  is  an 
ingredient  in  several  pigments. 

It  is  frequently  associated  with  the  ores  of  cobalt  and 
nickel,  and  hence  is  sometimes  prepared  at  the  same  esta- 
blishments where  those  substances  are  manufactured.  Saxony 
and  Silesia  furnish  the  principal  portion  of  the  arsenical  salts 
used  in  the  arts. 

The  fabrication  of  these  substances  has  to  be  conducted 
with  great  skill  and  caution,  to  prevent  the  workmen  from 
being  injured  by  inhaling  the  poisonous  vapors ;  audit  is  only 
where  the  treatment  of  a  variety  of  the  cobalt,  nickel,  and 
arsenical  ores  is  carried  on  in  the  large  way,  that  the  business 
can  be  made  at  all  profitable. 

In  this  country  the  arsenical  combinations  of  iron  are  very 
abundant,  but  they  are  not  at  present  of  any  value  whatever 

MANGANESE. 

This  substance  in  the  metallic  state  is  hardly  known.  It 
is  gray  and  brittle,  and  resembles  cast  iron.  It  never  occurs 
native;  but  in  combination  with  oxygen,  and  occasionally 
sulphur,  it  is  almost  as  universally  diffused  as  iron  itself, 
with  which  metal  it  seems  to  be  intimately  related,  since  it 
is  rare  to  find  an  iron  which  does  not  contain  at  least  a  trace 
of  manganese. 

The  sulphurets  of  manganese  are  comparatively  rare,  and 
of  no  value  as  ores.  The  oxides  arc  numerous,  and  furnish 
the  manganese  of  commerce. 

Pyrolusite  contains  manganese  63-4  and  oxygen  36-6. 
This  is  the  principal  ore,  and  is  found  in  great  abundance  in 
many  localities. 

Hausmannite  is  an  oxide  containing  manganese  72-4  and 
oxygen  27-6.  It  is  not  an  ore,  and  is  quite  rare. 

Braunite  ;  another  oxide,  containing  manganese  69*75  and 
oxygen  30-25.  It  is  of  no  value  as  an  ore. 

Manganitc  is  a  hydrated  oxide  which  contains  about  ten 
per  cent,  of  water. 

Psilomclane  is  a  mixture  of  the  superoxide  with  various 


502  CHROMIUM. 

earthy  bases,  and  usually  contains  a  little  water ;  it  is  one  of 
the  most  common  ores  of  manganese,  and  occurs  with  pyro- 
lusite. 

Wad,  or  bog  manganese,  consists  mainly  of  the  oxides  of 
manganese  and  water,  with  some  oxide  of  iron,  and  a  varying 
amount  of  earthy  substances.  It  is  a  secondary  product  of 
the  decomposition  of  other  manganesian  and  ferriferous  ores. 
Cobalt  is  frequently  found  associated  with  this  substance. 
In  this  form  it  occurs  at  Mine  La  Mottc.  The  bog  manganese 
is  of  little  value  for  any  purpose.  The  silicates  of  manganese 
are  of  no  value  at  present. 

The  manganese  of  Cornwall  and  Devon  was  formerly  of  a 
good  deal  of  importance,  and  the  value  raised  was  estimated 
by  De  la  Beche  in  1839  at  £40,000  per  annum.  The  chief 
mines  wrere  near  Tavistock  and  Launceston.  The  deposits 
are  mostly  superficial. 

At  present,  Nassau  supplies  almost  all  the  manganese  used 
in  the  arts.  The  deposits  there  are  very  extensive,  and  the 
quality  excellent.  In  1852,  3291  tons  of  this  substance  were 
brought  to  Liverpool  from  that  country.  Its  average  price 
was  £1  per  ton. 

Bog  manganese  is  very  abundant  in  this  country,  but  there 
are  few  localities  where  any  considerable  quantity  of  a 
really  valuable  article  is  found.  The  most  important  localities 
are  in  Vermont,  where  the  gray  ore  has  been  mined  to  some 
extent. 

Manganese  is  used  very  extensively  in  the  arts  to  decom- 
pose muriatic  acid,  and  thus  furnish  chlorine  for  various 
purposes,  especially  for  manufacturing  bleaching  powders. 
It  is  also  used  to  correct  the  green  tinge  of  glass  containing 
too  much  iron.  The  peroxide  of  manganese  disengages 
oxygen  when  heated,  and  is  an  important  source  from  which 
that  gas  is  obtained  for  various  purposes. 

CHROMIUM. 

The  only  combination  of  this  metal  which  is  sufficiently 
abundant  to  be  considered  as  an  ore,  is  chromic  iron  or 
chromate  of  iron,  as  it  i3  usually  called.  It  is  a  compound  of 


TITANIUM.  503 

the  oxides  of  chromium  and  iron.  The  metal  itself  is  hardly 
known.  It  is  not  found  in  the  native  state. 

The  bichromate  of  potash  is  much  used  in  calico  printing, 
and  the  chromate  of  lead  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
valuable  yellow  pigments.  The  oxide  of  chromium  is  also 
used  in  the  arts,  and  furnishes  a  fine  green  for  porcelain 
painting. 

The  ore  from  which  these  various  salts  of  the  metal  are 
prepared  is  quite  abundantly  distributed  in  this  country.  The 
principal  locality  is  the  Bare  Hills,  near  Baltimore,  where  it 
has  been  mined  in  considerable  quantity  in  serpentine.  It 
also  occurs  in  several  other  places  in  Maryland ;  in  Chester 
and  Lancaster  Counties  in  Pennsylvania ;  at  Hoboken,  !N"ew 
Jersey ;  at  Jay,  Newfane,  Troy,  and  Westville,  in  Vermont ; 
and  at  Chester  and  Blanford  in  Massachusetts. 

At  Jay,  Vermont,  the  quantity  is  said  by  the  State  Geolo- 
gist to  be  large.  There  is  also  a  vein  about  one  mile  south- 
east of  the  farm  of  Mr.  Price,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missico 
River.  An  analysis  of  the  Jay  ore  by  T.  S.  Hunt  gave : — 

Green  Oxide  of  Chromium,  .  .  .  49-90 

Protoxide  of  Iron,  .....       48'9G 

Alumina,  Silica,  and  Magnesia,        .  .  .  4'14 

100-00 

TITANIUM. 

Titanium  occurs  principally  in  the  form  of  rutile,  or  titanic 
acid,  a  combination  of  38-86  per  cent  of  oxygen,  with  61-14 
of  the  metal.  This  mineral  is  not  rare,  but  is  not  often 
found  in  any  considerable  quantity.  Titaniferous  iron,  a 
mixture  in  varying  proportions  of  the  oxides  of  titanium  and 
iron,  is  a  very  common  substance.  The  combinations  of 
titanium  have  been,  as  yet,  but  little  used  in  the  arts.  Oxide 
of  titanium  is  employed  to  give  a  flesh  color  to  artificial  teeth, 
and  in  porcelain  painting  to  a  very  limited  extent.  The  de- 
mand for  it  is  so  small  that  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  an 
article  of  commerce. 

MOLYBDENUM. 

Molybdenum  occurs  in  nature  principally  in  the  form  of 


504  URANIUM  —  TUNGSTEN. 

the  sulphuret,  or  molybdenite,  a  substance  considerably  resem- 
bling graphite  in  its  external  characters.  It  has  hardly  been 
introduced  into  use  in  the  arts ;  but  one  of  its  combinations 
is  of  considerable  value  as  a  reagent  for  the  analytical 
chemist. 

URANIUM. 

This  metal  does  not  occur  in  the  native  state.  It  is  most 
commonly  found  in  the  form  of  pitch-blende,  an  oxide,  which 
generally  contains  more  or  less  iron,  lead,  and  other  foreign 
substances.  The  other  combinations  in  which  it  exists  are 
somewhat  numerous,  but  occur  only  in  minute  quantities. 

The  only  use  to  which  uranium  has  yet  been  put,  is  to  fur- 
nish a  fine  black  for  porcelain  painting. 

TUNGSTEN. 

Tungsten  is  interesting  from  the  circumstance,  that  in  va- 
rious forms  of  combination  it  frequently  accompanies  the 
ores  of  tin.  It  has  not  yet,  however,  been  made  subservient 
to  the  purposes  of  the  arts. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

GENERAL    SUMMARY. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  work,  each  metal  has 
been  taken  up,  and  after  a  discussion  of  the  mineralogical 
and  geological  occurrence  of  its  ores,  their  distribution 
throughout  the  world  has  been  briefly  described,  the  idea  of 
geographical  and  political  divisions  being  subordinated  to 
that  of  the  metal  under  consideration. 

There  is  another  mode  of  treating  the  subject  of  the 
metallic  resources  of  the  world,  which  might  have  been 
adopted,  according  to  which  each  country  should  have  been 
taken  up  successively,  its  mines  described  together,  and  its 
statistics  embodied  in  one  table.  Such  a  method  would  not 
have  been  without  its  advantages,  but  the  object  of  the  work 
being  pre-eminently  to  illustrate  our  own  resources  by  com- 
parison with  those  of  other  countries,  the  system  which  has 
been  followed  seemed  preferable.  By  combining,  however, 
the  statistics  of  each  country  given  under  the  head  of  the 
several  metals,  as  complete  an  idea  of  its  resources  may  be 
obtained  as  is  possible  to  be  given  by  figures  alone. 

Before  closing,  therefore,  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  embody 
in  a  tabular  form  the  general  results  which  have  been  arrived 
at,  so  that  the  reader  may  obtain,  at  one  glance,  a  view  of 
the  comparative  capacity  of  production  of  each  country,  for 
each  metal,  and  for  all  the  metals  together.  For  this  pur- 
pose, two  tables  have  been  prepared ;  in  the  first,  the  esti- 
mated amount  in  weight  of  the  metals  annually  produced 
throughout  the  world  at  the  present  time  is  given ;  in  the 
second,  the  same  estimates  are  repeated,  the  weights  being 
converted  into  values. 


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508         REMARKS    OX    TH  E  ,  STATISTIC  AT,    TABLES. 

The  estimates  here  presented  are  based  on  the  assumption 
that  the  present  year,  for  which  they  are  made,  would  be  one 
of  normal  production,  the  fluctuations  being  due  to  circum- 
stances naturally  connected  with  the  development  of  this 
branch  of  industry,  and  not  to  extraordinary  political  changes  : 
such,  for  instance,  as  might  be  a  general  European  war,  which 
should  draw  off  any  considerable  portion  of  the  miners,  or 
check  the  exportation  and  consumption  of  the  metals. 

The  value  of  the  estimates  for  various  countries  is  very 
different.  In  some  of  the  well-regulated  states  of  Europe, 
where  the  mining  interest  is  under  the  especial  protection  of 
the  government,  the  most  minute  record  of  its  progress  is 
kept ;  and  as  there  is  little  fluctuation  of  production  from 
year  to  year,  the  amounts  given  are  undoubtedly  very  near 
approximations  to  the  truth.  For  Sweden,  iTorwa}^  Prussia, 
Saxony,  Austria,  and  France,  the  official  returns  are  very 
full,  although  not  always  procurable  in  this  country  down  to 
a  very  recent  date,  nor,  indeed,  always  published  at  once. 
As  to  Great  Britain,  the  greatest  metal-producing  country  of 
the  world,  its  production  of  some  of  the  metals  was,  until 
recently,  very  imperfectly  known.  The  public  ticketings  of 
copper  ores  in  Cornwall  and  at  Swansea  have  furnished  the 
means  of  determining  pretty  accurately  the  quantity  of  cop- 
per annually  raised ;  it  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  exertions  of 
Mr.  R.  Hunt,  Keeper  of  Mining  Records,  that  a  fair  estimate 
of  the  production  of  the  other  metals  can  be  formed.  In  re- 
gard to  Spain,  our  information  is  mostly  derived  from  the 
accounts  of  French  and  German  mining  engineers,  who  have 
travelled  or  held  official  stations  in  that  country ;  as  no  state- 
ments are  published  by  the  government,  and  the  production 
is  somewhat  fluctuating,  the  estimates  are  to  be  taken  as 
approximations  only. 

Passing  from  Europe  to  Asia  and  South  America,  the  dif- 
ficulty of  presenting  figures  which  can  lay  any  claim  to  accu- 
racy is  greatly  increased.  Of  only  one  country,  Chili,  have 
we  anything  approaching  to  a  complete  picture  of  its  metallic 
resources.  Something  is  known,  however,  of  the  production 
of  silver  and  gold  in  other  South  American  countries  like- 
wise ;  and  as  the  metals  of  less  value  are  almost  entirely 


TABLE    OF    VALUES.  509 

neglected,  the  want  of  information  respecting  them  is  of  less 
consequence. 

To  come  nearer  home,  we  find  as  great  difficulties  to  con- 
tend with  in  this  country  as  anywhere  else  in  forming 
mates.  "We  have  no  office  where  such  information  is  re- 
corded, as  in  England,  and  the  government  has  no  official 
connection  whatever  with  the  development  of  our  mining 
interests.  "Nor  has  the , importance  of  recording  the  facts 
belonging  to  this  branch  of  our  industry  been  generally) 
acknowledged. 

It  has  been  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  desired  infor- 
mation without  personally  visiting  each  locality,  and  this,  of 
course,  has  not  in  the  majority  of  instances  been  practicable. 
With  regard  to  the  two  metals  of  predominating  importance, 
gold  and  iron,  the  data  on  which  our  estimates  are  based 
have  already  been  given  with  sufficient  detail.  In  the  case 
of  the  other  metals,  also,  the  amounts  stated  will  not  pro- 
bably be  found  to  vary  much  from  the  truth,  as  they  are  the 
results  of  extensive  inquiries. 

In  constructing  the  second  table,  that  of  values,  the  prices 
of  the  metals  have  been  taken  pretty  nearly  at  an  average  of 
English  prices  for  the  last  few  months.  It  must  be  re- 
marked, however,  that  these  are  only  the  values  of  the  raw 
material,  which  may  bear  but  a  small  proportion  to  its  worth 
when  manufactured  and  brought  into  the  shape  in  which  it 
is  exported. 

The  increase  which  may  be  thus  given  to  the  value  of  iron, 
for  instance,  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  that  which  it  originally 
had  as  pig  iron,  in  which  character  it  appears  in  the  tables 
above.  This  distinction  must  be  borne  in  mind  when  draw- 
ing comparisons  between  the  production  of  different  states. 
If  one  furnishes  only  gold,  which  demands  no  labor  or  ex- 
penditure of  capital  to  bring  it  into  the  form  in  which  it  is 
to  be  consumed,  such  a  production  will  add  vastly  less  to  the 
real  wealth  of  the  country  than  would  an  amount  of  a 
cheaper  metal  much  less  in  value  originally,  but  which  has 
been  wrought  into  a  form  by  which  its  price  has  been  raised  ' 
to  ten  or  perhaps  even  a  hundred  fold  that  of  the  raw  mate- 
rial. 


510  RATIO     OF     PRODUCTION. 

Iii  order  still  farther  to  illustrate  the  subject  of  the  com- 
parative value  of  the  metallic  productions  of  different  coun- 
tries, the  following  statement  is  appended,  from  which  may 
be  seen  the  ratio  of  their  production,  as  compared,  first,  with 
that  of  this  country  taken  as  the  unit,  and,  secondly,  with 
that  of  Great  Britain. 

Value  of  Ratio  of  production 

metals  to  llint  of 

produced.         United  States.     Great  Britain. 

^  L.J    I      United  State?, $79,827,000  1'  5-G 

Great  Britain, 90,109,800  1-205                  1 

'"Australia, 39,428,000  -494  5-12 

Mexico, 30,480,000  -382  1-3 

Russian  Empire, 25,240,000  -310  4-15 

France, 15,252.500  -191  1-G 

Chili, 13,144,000  -105  2-15 

Rest  of  South  America,      ....  10,170,000  -203  1-0 

Austrian  Empire, 11,708,000  -147  1-8 

Prussia, 9,080,000  -121  1-10 

Belgium, 9,375,000  -118  1-10 

Spain, 8,010,410  -100  1-12 

Sweden  and  Norway, 5,400,890  -008  1-17 

Saxony, 1,455,000  -018  1-07 

Harz. 1,147,588  -014  1-SG 

Italy, 832,500  -010  1-120 

Switzerland, 375,000  -005  1-240 

The  great  importance  of  our  own  metallic  resources  will 
be  at  once  apparent  from  an  inspection  of  the  above  table. 
s  It  w^ill  be  seen  that  we  are  second  only  to  Great  Britain*  in 
our  production,  as  we  are  also  in  our  consumption,  of  the 
metals.  The  two  great  Anglo-Saxon  countries  stand  far 
before  all  others ;  and  Australia,  a  colony  of  England  of  but 
a  few  years'  growth,  is  the  next  competitor  on  the  list.  As 
our  production  of  gold,  which  now  forms  so  important  an 
item  of  our  metallic  wealth,  falls  off,  as  it  assuredly  will,  the 
deficiency  may  be  more  than  made  up  by  the  development 
of  our  resources  for  the  production  of  the  other  metals. 


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